Instacart Debuts AI Tool to Help You Shop Faster and Smarter

Instacart is tapping into artificial intelligence with the launch of Ask Instacart, a new search tool powered by ChatGPT and its own in-house AI tech. Debuting Wednesday, the tool is designed to answer food-related questions, offer product recommendations, and information on ingredients, dietary factors and meal prep. 

Ask Instacart will begin rolling out today and will expand to US customers during the coming weeks, according to a press release from the grocery delivery service.

Customers will find the feature in the shopping app’s search bar where you can ask questions like, “What’s for dinner?,” “What fish is similar to salmon?” or “What are good sauces for grilling chicken?” Ask Instacart aims to help you track down ingredients and products while considering the specifics of your question. The tool can also show customers which foods pair well together and create shopping lists if you have recipe questions. 

Instacart regulars may find the upgraded search experience to be more intuitive. The company says that the search function now integrates “personalized question prompts into the search bar that anticipate customer preferences, remind them of their needs based on their shopping history, and inspire them to discover new products.”

Based on their questions via Ask Instacart, customers will be connected to retailers and brand campaigns that highlight new products and old favorites. Currently, Instacart provides access to over one billion items and more than 80,000 retail partners.

Ask Instacart joins a flood of new AI-powered tools and services released this year from Microsoft, Google, Adobe, Meta and others. While these tools have vast potential to help people on tasks big and small, they’ve also sparked concerns about the risks advanced AI could pose to society.

The grocery delivery company/ is increasing its reach with AI tools, and recently dropped the Instacart plugin for ChatGPT users. There are plans to introduce additional AI features next year and in the future.

Don’t miss our coverage on the best grocery delivery services, Instacart perks and whether it’s cheaper to shop in-store.

Editors’ note: CNET is using an AI engine to create some personal finance explainers that are edited and fact-checked by our editors. For more, see this post.