Zomato starts experimenting with generative artificial intelligence

The Gurgaon-based company, which also owns the quick commerce platform Blinkit, is also planning to hire engineers for machine learning, data science, and natural language processing roles to build AI-based products, one of the sources said.

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“Zomato has appointed a head of AI product development to drive these efforts,” the person said, adding that the team will be looking to integrate AI into various customer interfacing features such as search and notifications, in addition to backend tools such as product photography, customer support, etc. These tools will be built for both Zomato and Blinkit.

“A large part of customer communications within the app are already automated…but the integration with generative AI will be able to handle the increasing loads more efficiently and effectively,” the person added.

A spokesperson for Zomato confirmed the development.

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“Over the past year, Zomato has tuned neural networks that predict food preparation and delivery time, amongst other things. Similarly, Blinkit has used machine learning to optimise supply-chain cost and reduce delivery times,” the spokesperson told ET. “We are experimenting with generative AI. For example, Blinkit now provides almost unlimited recipes, along with ingredients required, on its app.”Globally, internet companies are fast incorporating AI tools to improve services.

Recently, MakeMyTrip founder Deep Kalra had said that the online travel agency is looking to build core capabilities using generative AI, and will work with leading players in the space to build those tools.

Zomato is also learnt to be working with Google, Adobe, OpenAI, Microsoft, etc., for its product development in the AI space.

“Zomato and Blinkit have continuously hired engineers with machine learning skills for the past few years,” the Zomato spokesperson said. “We are always on the lookout for talented engineers who can help us develop new models to create services that delight the customers and bring efficiency to business processes.”

Blinkit’s chief executive Albinder Dhindsa had recently said in a blog post that a small team of engineers and a product manager at Blinkit recently built ‘Recipe Rover’ – a ChatGPT- and Midjourney-powered engine that suggests recipes and helps find ingredients.

Both ChatGPT and Midjourney are generative AI engines developed by OpenAI and California-based Midjourney Inc., respectively.

Generative AI models such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s BARD, which have taken the tech world by storm, are able to answer complex questions, write codes and generate content using large language models that take simple-text inputs for human-like responses.