Uber Eats Turns Your Scrawled List Into a Grocery Cart

Uber Eats is introducing a new way to shop for groceries: simply tell it what you need. The company announced a feature that lets users build a shopping cart by typing a request or snapping a photo of a handwritten list.

The tool, available through major retailers like Safeway, Albertsons, and Kroger, checks for item availability at your chosen store and learns preferences over time. Shoppers can review and adjust the AI's selections before ordering. "We focus on practical needs first," said Uber's Praveen Neppalli Naga. "The goal is to build features that feel intuitive because they're based on how people actually shop."

The move is part of a broader push by delivery platforms into the competitive grocery sector, a market Uber and DoorDash entered in earnest during the pandemic. Uber has recently added partners like Aldi and FreshDirect. The company's delivery bookings saw significant growth last quarter, reaching $25.4 billion.

Uber's cart assistant joins a wave of AI experimentation in retail. Instacart, Amazon, and Walmart have all deployed similar tools for shoppers and merchants, signaling a shift toward more conversational and automated commerce.

Source: CNBC