The food delivery platform had been trialling the technology to help smaller independent restaurants add images to menu items without the cost of professional photography. However, the technology fell short in certain instances, creating bizarre images that included fried eggs and sausages floating in a glass of cola - created to represent a ‘breakfast soda’ - a miniature burger served inside a sauce pot, sushi rolls filled with cheese, and wine glasses containing chunks of watermelon.
Just Eat has apologised for the images, admitting that the AI technology had teething problems.
“We’ve been trialling AI-enhanced images and, as with any new technology, it isn’t always quite right the first time,” a spokesperson says. “We’re sorry for any inaccurate images that have been posted. We’ve paused rolling this out while we further develop the tool to ensure it best serves our partners and customers.”
Evidence suggests that food imagery can help drive sales and conversion and the AI trial was designed to help independent operators to illustrate their food offer without the large expense often required to photograph every menu item.
Just Eat acknowledged the technology had failed to consistently deliver accurate results and said that affected images had been removed.
“We want partners on our platform to show photos that accurately reflect their dishes so that our customers can be confident in what they are ordering and happy when their food arrives,” the spokesperson adds.