DoorDash unveils drone delivery, AI tools, and new retail brands

DoorDash announced a series of new products and services at its Dash Forward 2026 event, including a drone delivery system, an AI ordering assistant accessible via text message, a restaurant management platform, and an expanded retail marketplace.

According to the company, DoorDash and Wolt have facilitated over 14 billion combined lifetime consumer orders as of September 2026. In 2025, more than 9 million Dashers earned over $20 billion globally, a figure that includes Wolt and Deliveroo, which DoorDash acquired on October 2, 2025.

The company introduced DoorDash Air, a drone delivery system piloting in Northern California with partners including Chipotle and Popeyes. Based on initial tests, average delivery times from restaurant to customer ran under five minutes. The company estimates about 80% of typical U.S. restaurant orders are light enough for the aircraft to carry.

DoorDash also launched a text-based ordering feature for U.S. iOS users, currently available via waitlist in beta. The feature builds on the existing in-app Ask DoorDash assistant, allowing users to place orders through a standard text message thread.

A new platform called DashOS was introduced for restaurants, consolidating tools for marketplace orders, direct ordering, reservations, loyalty programs, and guest management into a single system.

For its delivery contractors, DoorDash launched DashBuddy, an AI assistant that the company says has already been used by over 200,000 Dashers and has resolved approximately 95% of questions from Dashers during onboarding, based on internal data from July through September 2026.

The company added retail brands including Macy's, Anthropologie, The North Face, Vans, and Timberland to its marketplace. A return service called Dasher Returns, live in select cities, charges a flat $7.99 fee for a Dasher to pick up and return an eligible item to a store. A nationwide rollout is expected in November.

DoorDash also announced a corporate ordering connector using the Model Context Protocol, allowing businesses to integrate DoorDash into workplace AI tools. A beta waitlist opened September 30.

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