NYT Cooking Tests AI Recipe Tool for iOS Subscribers as Users Push Back on No Off Switch
Updated
Updated · The Verge · Oct 29
NYT Cooking Tests AI Recipe Tool for iOS Subscribers as Users Push Back on No Off Switch
3 articles · Updated · The Verge · Oct 29
Summary
NYT Cooking is gradually rolling out an AI recipe-modification feature to all subscribers on its iOS app, with broader availability promised soon.
The tool rewrites recipes around user needs by suggesting ingredient and equipment substitutions and scaling servings to any number, such as swapping baby spinach for kale and changing the cooking step.
User reaction has split, with some commenters criticizing AI’s environmental costs and its effect on the app’s experience; when asked about disabling it, senior editor Genevieve Ko said there is no off switch for now, though use is optional.
Comments on the announcement post were later closed after four days, which a New York Times spokesperson said is standard practice, adding that many users are already trying the feature and reporting good results.
The test extends NYT Cooking’s earlier AI-assisted changes, including metric-weight conversions introduced two years ago and a serving-size halving or doubling feature added last year.