DoorDash has received only “several hundred” orders from third-party AI agents such as Muse, Instinct and Fo, the delivery company disclosed on its third-quarter earnings call, a figure that contrasts with the uproar about AI agents taking over commerce.
Asked by an analyst about the topic, CEO Tony Xu said his take on technology was that one should not “fight gravity” or be “delusional,” describing agent-based ordering as “still a very dynamic area.” “If you look at where AI agents are today, we're seeing maybe several hundred orders in total from some of these third-party agents,” he said.
Xu said users are still predominantly placing orders through DoorDash's app, but the company wants to learn more about agentic use cases and develop a healthy relationship with third-party agent makers. He added that there could eventually be an opportunity for DoorDash to advertise within these agents.
DoorDash has its own agent tools, including a text-to-order agent launched in September, a CLI agent introduced in July and a chatbot called Ask DoorDash launched in June that takes orders through prompts and photos. The company also released an MCP to enable ordering from other chatbots for corporate ordering.
Websites are still deciding whether to allow agents access to their content. Amazon has been blocking personal agents, while Walmart has laid out a red carpet for them in an effort to snag business from competitors.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- AI agents that order on a user's behalf have been hyped as the next big commerce channel, and DoorDash's disclosure offers an early real-world data point.
- “Several hundred” orders against an average of 3 million daily deliveries shows agentic commerce is still marginal, tempering expectations for the sector.
- Retailers are split on how to respond, and that divide could shape whether agent-based ordering takes off.
Background
AI agents that can place orders for users are an emerging area of e-commerce, with websites still deciding whether to allow agents access to their content. DoorDash has invested in its own tools this year, launching a text-to-order agent, a command-line agent and a chatbot, as well as an MCP for corporate ordering.
Key Perspectives
Tony Xu, DoorDash CEO: says agent ordering is “still a very dynamic area,” and the company neither wants to fight the technology nor be delusional about it, having seen only “several hundred” orders from third-party agents so far.
Amazon: has been blocking personal AI agents from its platforms.
Walmart: has welcomed agents, laying out a red carpet for them to take business from competitors.
What to Watch
- Whether third-party agent order volumes at DoorDash rise meaningfully in future quarters.
- Adoption of DoorDash's own agents, including its text-to-order tool and Ask DoorDash chatbot.
- Whether other major retailers follow Amazon's blocking approach or Walmart's open one.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 12 supported.
Show each claim
- SupportedDoorDash has received only several hundred orders from third-party AI agents.AI News & Artificial Intelligence | TechCrunch: “DoorDash revealed during its third-quarter earnings call that it has only seen “several hundred” orders from third-party agents like Muse, Instinct, Fo, and others.”
- SupportedDoorDash averages 3 million deliveries daily.AI News & Artificial Intelligence | TechCrunch: “For comparison, the company said in its 2025 report it completes an average of 3 million deliveries daily.”
- SupportedDoorDash disclosed the figure during its third-quarter earnings call.AI News & Artificial Intelligence | TechCrunch: “DoorDash revealed during its third-quarter earnings call that it has only seen “several hundred” orders from third-party agents like Muse, Instinct, Fo, and others.”
- SupportedThe story says the low order figure contrasts with uproar about AI agents taking over commerce.AI News & Artificial Intelligence | TechCrunch: “There’s a big uproar about AI agents taking over commerce and orders, but that might not be the case just yet.”
- SupportedXu said one should not “fight gravity” or be “delusional” about technology.AI News & Artificial Intelligence | TechCrunch: “And my take on all things technology is you never want to fight gravity. But at the same time, you don’t want to be delusional,”
- SupportedXu described agent-based ordering as “still a very dynamic area.”AI News & Artificial Intelligence | TechCrunch: ““I would say that this [using agents to order] is something that is still a very dynamic area.”
- SupportedXu said the company was seeing “maybe several hundred orders in total” from third-party agents.AI News & Artificial Intelligence | TechCrunch: “What I mean by that is if you look at where AI agents are today, we’re seeing maybe several hundred orders in total from some of these third-party agents,”
- SupportedXu said users are still predominantly placing orders through DoorDash’s app.AI News & Artificial Intelligence | TechCrunch: “Xu mentioned that users are still predominantly placing orders through DoorDash’s app.”
- SupportedDoorDash wants to learn more about agentic use cases and develop a healthy relationship with third-party agent makers.AI News & Artificial Intelligence | TechCrunch: “However, the company wants to learn more about agentic use cases and develop a healthy relationship with third-party agent makers.”
- SupportedXu said DoorDash could eventually have an opportunity to advertise within third-party agents.AI News & Artificial Intelligence | TechCrunch: “He added that, in the future, there could be an opportunity for it to advertise within these agents.”
- SupportedDoorDash launched its text-to-order agent in September, introduced a CLI agent in July, and launched Ask DoorDash in June.AI News & Artificial Intelligence | TechCrunch: “DoorDash has its own agents, including a text-to-order agent it launched in September , a CLI agent introduced in July , and a chatbot called Ask DoorDash it launched it June,”
- SupportedThe story says Amazon blocks personal agents while Walmart welcomes them to attract business from competitors.AI News & Artificial Intelligence | TechCrunch: “Amazon has been blocking such personal agents, but Walmart has laid out a red carpet for them in order to snag some business from its competitors .”
