Zomato Introduces AI-Powered Assistant To Help Customers Place Orders

Zomato has become the latest startup to hop on the artificial intelligence (AI) bus with the launch of Zomato AI to offer convenience and personalistation to customers.

Zomato AI is essentially a chatbot or an assistant which would help customers suggest food dishes and restaurants. Zomato will roll out the feature gradually, exclusively for Zomato Gold users.

“Transcending the boundaries of conventional chatbots, Zomato AI is an intelligent, intuitive foodie companion, designed to cater to users’ ever-changing preferences, dietary needs, and even their current moods,” the company said in a statement.

Zomato AI’s multiple agent framework brings a variety of prompts for different tasks. For example, Zomato AI will present customers with a widget, listing all the restaurants serving a desired dish.

In addition, Zomato AI can also suggest a list of popular dishes or restaurants if a customer is unsure about what to order, the statement said.

Zomato AI will allow customers to send multiple messages and will respond back in almost real-time.

“Proficient in handling complex queries, Zomato AI is designed to be users’ ultimate foodie friend… Zomato AI is a groundbreaking innovation that will allow customers to discover the right food at the right time and has the potential to redefine food ordering experiences,” the company added.

With the rise in popularity of AI after the launch of Open AI’s ChatGPT, a number of Indian startups have adopted AI to enhance their offerings. Zomato’s rival Swiggy and online travel aggregator ixigo are among these startups.

Zomato also launched a generative AI-based product for its quick commerce platform Blinkit.

Meanwhile, Zomato has been on a spree of new launches to expand the features available to its users. In June, it launched a multi-restaurant cart feature which allows users to make multiple carts at the same time. Earlier, users could add items from only one restaurant at a time.

It also introduced ‘Zomato Food Trends’ to help restaurant partners make data-driven decisions.

Amid all this, the startup also reported its first profitable quarter in April-June. Zomato posted a consolidated profit after tax (PAT) of INR 2 Cr in Q1 FY24 as against a net loss of INR 186 Cr in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal year.

The gross order value (GOV) of Zomato’s food delivery business stood at INR 7,318 Cr in Q1 FY24 as against INR 6,425 Cr in the corresponding quarter of the last fiscal.