An Uber Eats bag in the Brooklyn borough of New York, US, on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026.
Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Uber Eats is bringing artificial intelligence to your next grocery shopping list.
The ride-hailing company said on Wednesday that its food delivery platform is debuting a new AI assistant that lets customers build a shopping cart using text or images, like handwritten grocery lists.
Uber is offering the feature through dozens of large retailers, including Safeway, Albertsons and Kroger. The tool accounts for item preferences and store availability and allows users to edit selections, the company said.
“Cart Assistant reflects how we think about AI at Uber: starting with real customer needs and building practical solutions within the app,” said Praveen Neppalli Naga, Uber’s technology, said in a release. “By grounding these features in real user behavior, we can build tools that feel helpful and intuitive.”
Uber Eats AI assistant.
Courtesy: Uber
Uber and its rivals in food delivery and ride-hailing have been adding more AI features to enhance their platforms for customers and businesses. In July, Uber launched new tools for restaurants, including AI-powered menu descriptions and customer review summaries.
Uber and DoorDash have launched aggressive expansions into grocery delivery, in a direct challenge to Instacart. Both companies started offering the service in 2020 during the height of the Covid pandemic. In recent months, Uber has been introducing more partners, including Aldi and FreshDirect.
Gross bookings in the delivery business grew 26% from a year earlier to $25.4 billion in the fourth quarter.
Uber’s tool is also the latest example of AI innovation in the retail industry, which is emerging as a significant testing space for the technology. Last year, Instacart debuted AI tools for grocers. Amazon and Walmart have also introduced AI agents.
