DoorDash CEO calls AI agent adoption a 'very low use case' for food delivery
The platform handled nearly one billion orders last quarter, but AI agents generated only a few hundred of them.
By Yasmin Nasser ·
DoorDash co-founder and CEO Tony Xu described the use of artificial intelligence agents to place food orders as a
very low use case
during a third-quarter earnings call on Thursday. The company processed just under one billion total orders in the third quarter of 2026. By comparison, AI agents generated only several hundred orders during the period.
Xu responded to an analyst question by providing these figures. He noted that the volume of agent-driven purchases remains small relative to the platform's total activity.
The CEO explained that he views AI agents as more useful for
long consideration purchases
and major decisions. In those scenarios, agents can
do work on your behalf proactively in the background.
He contrasted this with ordering food, which he said is a simple task that customers tend to handle directly through the DoorDash app.
DoorDash launched its Model Context Protocol connector less than a month ago. This tool allows third-party AI systems to access the platform through a standardized method. The connector is currently available only to a small group of
early beta partners.
These partners primarily use the tool to streamline corporate lunch orders. Without the connector, AI agents must access DoorDash through a web interface, which requires more effort than a direct link.
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