Thanks for reading The Briefing, our nightly column where we break down the day’s news. If you like what you see, I encourage you to subscribe to our reporting here.
Greetings!
Tech companies may have already perfected the art of separating consumers from their money—but AI promises to take that capability to a whole new level. The latest demonstration of that is DoorDash’s Wednesday announcement that customers will soon be able to order restaurant meals and groceries by text. The new service is a result of DoorDash integrating the capabilities of its AI assistant, which is already in its app, into iMessage.
So if you’re like me and you like to reorder the same restaurant meal every Friday night, now you can do so with a quick text. To be honest, the convenience of this seems illusory, as DoorDash’s mobile app already makes reordering a meal as easy as pie. But the AI assistant, whether it’s in the app or outside it, is an advance. If its a chore to figure out where to order food for a special dinner from, it can suggest places. The assistant is even more handy for groceries: It can list the ingredients you need for a meal and order them.
Of course, all AI assistants can do those things—including with the help of DoorDash. The company has partnered with ChatGPT and is reportedly in talks with Meta Platforms about connecting with its Muse assistant. But DoorDash needs its own AI assistant. If people get used to using ChatGPT or Muse to order meals for delivery—even if they‘re doing so via DoorDash—the food delivery firm’s connection with customers could gradually weaken.
Moreover, we don’t yet know whether agents like Muse will become popular for shopping and the like. (See this story on why they might not). DoorDash is positioning itself for whatever happens. So far, so good: DoorDash says people ordering groceries through the AI assistant “average nearly 50% higher basket value” than consumers’ traditional orders. Presumably that’s because the assistant suggests items consumers wouldn’t have thought of on their own.
Now if only the AI assistant could fix DoorDash’s abysmal customer service—then it would really prove its value to consumers.
Trump’s FTC Investigates AI Firms
A day after President Donald Trump announced an agreement with major AI companies on safety provisions, the Federal Trade Commission was widely reported to be investigating OpenAI and Anthropic, including over whether “rogue AI systems” have hurt consumers, as The New York Times reported.
The investigation appears to have been fueled by worries that the companies’ AI could threaten humanity—the same concerns Trump has dismissed as a hoax. Perhaps they could point to Trump’s statement and ask the FTC why it is investigating something the president says isn’t real.
In Other News
Memory chip maker Micron Technology reported a 380% increase in revenue for the quarter ending Sept. 3, the latest sign of how intense AI-driven demand for memory is lifting the fortunes of memory chip companies.
GMI Cloud, a five-year-old provider of Nvidia chip servers to enterprises, said Wednesday it has raised $668 million in equity and debt financing. The new fundraising shows that Nvidia is continuing to help smaller, upstart cloud providers.
Apple plans to launch a smart home hub device on Oct. 13, Bloomberg reported. The device will have a roughly 6-inch-square display that can sit on countertops or mount on walls, the news outlet reported. It will showcase the capabilities of Apple’s overhauled Siri.
Novig, a sports-only prediction market backed by Sydney Sweeney, has raised new funding at a $2 billion valuation, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Today on The Information’s TITV
Check out today’s episode of TITV in which we speak with the CEO of EliseAI about the company’s $4 billion AI platform for property management and healthcare operations.
Recommended Newsletter
Start your day with Applied AI, the newsletter from The Information that uncovers how leading businesses are leveraging AI to automate tasks across the board. Subscribe now for free to get it delivered straight to your inbox twice a week.
Can the grid keep pace with AI? Steve LeVine moderates a live discussion with William Mao, Allan Schurr, and Brian Janous on scaling data centers for the AI era. Register now.
As enterprises move beyond AI deployment, where is real value landing? Aaron Holmes moderates this live discussion unpacking AI ROI with executives from Celonis and National Life Group. Register today.
