DoorDash has introduced Ask DoorDash, an AI-based chatbot that lets users order food, buy groceries using text prompts, photos and links.

The company said the tool enables customers to search in their own words and will add support for restaurant reservations in a future update.

For grocery shopping, DoorDash said customers can paste a recipe link, upload a cookbook photo, or capture a photo of a handwritten grocery list, and the app will generate a cart with suggested items and quantities.

The company said the average US customer can choose from approximately 800,000 menu items and grocery products on its platform. It added that Ask DoorDash is designed to sift through that inventory quickly to recommend restaurants or assemble a grocery cart.

The service is initially rolled out on iOS in select areas for restaurant search, grocery and shopping.

DoorDash plans to expand it to more US cities and add reservation functionality in the coming weeks.

DoorDash co-founder Andy Fang said: “We've spent over a decade building an app that puts everything in your city at your fingertips, but more options shouldn't mean more work.

“Now you can search DoorDash in your own words to find exactly what you want.

“And we know if the vegetarian option you prefer is on the menu before recommending a restaurant, or that you recently ordered flour and sugar before stocking up on groceries. The app works harder so you don’t have to.”

Last month, DoorDash overhauled its technology partner programme, adding more stringent integration rules and new tools to improve order accuracy, cut cancellations and simplify restaurant operations.