DoorDash launches text orders, drones, return pick-ups, AI tools
DoorDash is releasing a variety of new technologies designed to make placing and delivering online orders easier for all parties involved.
At its virtual Dash Forward 2026 event, DoorDash unveiled a variety of new technology-based offerings for consumers, businesses and drivers (known as “Dashers” in corporate lingo). Following are highlights of the new solutions and services:
Order by text
Building on Ask DoorDash — the recently launched artificial intelligence-based in-app assistant designed to help customers search via conversational language — a new order by text feature searches local spots, suggests a cart, and handles checkout right inside the text thread, based on natural language prompts. It also learns individual customer preferences and remembers them for future orders.
Starting Wednesday, Sept. 30, U.S. consumers on iOS can join the waitlist to try ordering by text in beta. In addition, DoorDash is allowing customers to reorder their usual groceries with a single tap and will scan the selected grocer’s shelves in real-time to suggest cheaper equivalents.
Drone delivery
Door Dash is officially launching DoorDash Air, a custom-built drone delivery system. The company earned Part 135 air carrier certification from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for DoorDash Air in July and is piloting drone delivery first in Northern California with partners including Chipotle and Popeyes, as well as local restaurants.
Orders are orchestrated seamlessly through the DoorDash Autonomous Delivery Platform, which determines in real time whether a human driver, delivery robot or drone is the fastest and most reliable way to reach a consumer.
[READ MORE: DoorDash brings proprietary delivery robot to new market]
According to the company, about 80% of its typical restaurant orders are light and small enough for drones to carry safely and based on estimates from our initial tests, delivery times are under five minutes on average.
“We didn't start with a drone and ask what would fit,” said Harrison Shih, head of DoorDash Air. “We started with what people order and how local businesses actually operate, then built the entire system from there.”
Dasher Returns
Live in select cities now and expected to roll out nationwide in November, a service called Dasher Returns lets consumers pay a flat $7.99 fee to schedule an eligible return with no box or label required. A dasher picks it up in as fast as 30 minutes and brings it back to the store, where the return is processed on the spot so customers receive their refunds within days.
DashOS
DoorDash has introduced DashOS, a restaurant growth platform that connects its tools across its marketplace, direct ordering, reservations, loyalty, customer management, and marketing operations. This is designed to let restaurants can use those connections to offer more relevant recommendations and rewards, build stronger customer relationships, and spend less time managing separate tools. DashOS works behind the scenes without adding another system to manage.
DashBuddy AI tools for drivers
DashBuddy, a new AI-powered assistant for drivers, allows them to ask questions about things like scheduling, hotspots, or payments. Already used by more than 200,000 drivers, DoorDash says DashBuddy has resolved about 95% of questions from drivers signing up or preparing for their first delivery.
DoorDash is also rolling out new in-app AI features for more experienced drivers, offering tips and insights intended to help improve their experience.
Workplace AI tools
The delivery provider is also introducing a DoorDash connector for corporate ordering. Using the open source Model Context Protocol (MCP) from Anthropic, the connector lets companies bring DoorDash into compatible internal AI tools they already use, including proprietary agents. Employees can ask a workplace bot to find lunch, coordinate group orders, check out with corporate meal benefits or tap into inventory systems to automatically restock office supplies.
