DoorDash Warns Restaurants About Bites as $1 AI Ordering Startup Challenges 15%-30% Fees
Updated
Updated · The Verge · Oct 7
DoorDash Warns Restaurants About Bites as $1 AI Ordering Startup Challenges 15%-30% Fees
3 articles · Updated · The Verge · Oct 7
Summary
August emails from DoorDash told Bay Area restaurants they may have been listed on Bites without consent, warning they might not have agreed to its terms, pricing or service standards and that such practices could be illegal in some states.
Bites, a 10-person startup with about 300 restaurants, lets diners order through ChatGPT and routes orders directly to restaurants, charging a flat $1 surcharge instead of the 15%-30% commissions DoorDash typically takes.
A Verge test put the same pizza-and-drink delivery at $56.73 through Bites versus $70.29 on DoorDash, while one restaurateur said Bites now drives 65% of his orders and DoorDash 25%, lifting margins.
The clash points to a broader AI threat to delivery apps: if consumers order through agents instead of marketplaces, platforms risk losing discovery, ad sales and control of customer data—areas that underpin DoorDash's model beyond its $4.5 billion quarterly revenue.