Dash Forward 2026: More Ways to Shop, Grow, and Earn Locally

Eligible returns add a paid pickup service, while text ordering and workplace AI integrations begin with beta waitlists.

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DoorDash’s latest updates help people tackle daily tasks, give local businesses new ways to grow, and make earning on DoorDash easier

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- At DoorDash, our mission has always been to grow and empower local economies. With more selection than ever before, DoorDash and Wolt have facilitated over 14 billion lifetime consumer orders.* Since 2023, we’ve made it easier to shop more of your neighborhood by adding 30 million retail products to the marketplace, with more than 500,000 products eligible for delivery in as little as an hour to the average U.S. consumer.** That expanding access also creates earning opportunities for millions of people: in 2025, more than 9 million Dashers earned over $20 billion globally.***

Together, these milestones reflect more choice for consumers, more growth for local businesses, and more ways for people to earn on their own time.

At our Dash Forward 2026 event, we unveiled new innovations built to solve real problems and make local commerce more effortless and rewarding for everyone. Whether that means texting your coffee order like you’re messaging a friend, giving restaurants the tools to treat every customer like a regular, or introducing new AI assistants to help Dashers hit their earning goals, we’re building a more connected future for consumers, merchants, and Dashers.

Here’s everything we announced:

Skip the App: Now You Can Just Text DoorDash

Ordering is now as easy as sending a text. Sometimes you’re mid-meeting or walking the dog, and you just need food to show up. Building on Ask DoorDash — our in-app assistant designed to help you find exactly what you want — we’re bringing that same capability directly to your text chat. Starting today, U.S. consumers on iOS can join the waitlist to try the experience in beta now. Whether you’re requesting a specific dish, asking for a local recommendation based on your mood, or telling DoorDash to “order my usual protein bowl to the office,” it searches local spots, suggests a cart, and handles checkout right inside the text thread. It learns your preferences and remembers them for future orders.

We’re also making grocery runs smarter and faster. Over 30% of recent grocery orders through Ask DoorDash were routine restocks.**** And now, you can reorder your usual groceries with a single tap. Plus, DoorDash scans the grocer’s shelves in real-time to suggest cheaper equivalents, turning every time you shop into a chance to save.

Taking to the Skies with DoorDash Air

Getting drone delivery off the ground is about much more than just the aircraft. It’s about the entire journey, from a busy kitchen to a consumer’s doorstep. Today, we are unveiling DoorDash Air, a custom-built drone delivery system designed to scale for businesses of all sizes.

We focused heavily on the groundwork first — the packaging, loading systems, and kitchen handoffs. This allows local businesses to deliver by air without significantly overhauling their operations. As Harrison Shih, Head of DoorDash Air, put it: “We didn't start with a drone and ask what would fit. We started with what people order and how local businesses actually operate, then built the entire system from there.”

Piloting first in Northern California with partners like Chipotle and Popeyes alongside other local restaurants, about 80% of today’s typical DoorDash restaurant orders are light and small enough for the aircraft to carry safely***** and, based on estimates from our initial tests, we’ve seen delivery times from the restaurant to the customer’s door in under 5 minutes on average******. It’s orchestrated seamlessly through our Autonomous Delivery Platform, which determines in real time whether a Dasher, Dot, or a drone is the fastest and most reliable way to reach a consumer.

The Mall in Your Pocket: Shop Your Favorites + Return Just as Easily

We’re making the mall in your pocket bigger by bringing iconic brands like Macy’s, Anthropologie, The North Face, Vans, and Timberland to the DoorDash Marketplace. You can now shop an expanded selection of apparel, beauty, and home goods with fast delivery from hundreds of stores nationwide.

Shopping on DoorDash also means shopping with more confidence. With Dasher Returns live in select cities today and expected to roll out nationwide in November, consumers pay a flat $7.99 fee******* to schedule an eligible return — no box or label required. A Dasher picks it up from your door in as fast as 30 minutes******** and brings it back to the store, where the return is processed on the spot so you receive your refund within days.*********

DashOS: One Platform to Help Restaurants Grow

A customer can discover a restaurant on DoorDash, order from its website the next week, and later book a table to visit in person. For the restaurant, those interactions often sit in separate systems, making it harder to understand what brings guests back.

Today we introduced DashOS, a restaurant growth platform that connects DoorDash’s tools across Marketplace, direct ordering, reservations, loyalty, guest management, and marketing. Restaurants can use those connections to offer more relevant recommendations and rewards, build stronger customer relationships, and spend less time managing separate tools. DashOS works behind the scenes, without adding another system for restaurant teams to manage.

For guests, it means a more personal experience however they choose to order or dine. For restaurants, it means more opportunities to earn their next visit.

DashBuddy: New AI Tools Helping Dashers Get More From Each Dash

To help remove the barriers that prevent new Dashers from getting started, we’re launching DashBuddy, a new AI-powered assistant. Dashers can ask questions about things like scheduling, hotspots, or payments and get the answers they need, the moment they need it. Already used by over 200,000 Dashers**********, and to date, DashBuddy has resolved about 95% of questions from Dashers signing up or preparing for their first dash.***********

We’re also rolling out new in-app AI features for more experienced Dashers, offering proactive tips and insights to help improve the dashing experience. Together, these tools can help Dashers make smarter decisions, and reach their goals with more confidence, from the first delivery to every one after.

Bringing Office Ordering to Workplace AI Tools

An office lunch order can start with a single Slack message and quickly turn into a messy string of follow-ups, dietary requests, and delivery questions. Today, we’re making that easier by introducing a DoorDash connector for corporate ordering.

Using the Model Context Protocol (MCP), companies can bring DoorDash into compatible internal AI tools their teams already use or agents they build themselves. Employees can ask a workplace bot to find lunch, coordinate group orders, check out with corporate meal benefits, or even tap into inventory systems to automatically restock office supplies.

Companies can join the MCP beta waitlist starting September 30 here.

*As of September 2026. Excludes consumer pickup orders, Deliveroo data, and Wolt orders completed before its acquisition by DoorDash.

**Excludes restaurants. Based on average availability of products across a nationally representative sample of consumer locations as of March 2026 and delivery times nationwide. Availability and delivery times vary and are not guaranteed.

***Metrics include DoorDash and Wolt, as well as Deliveroo beginning on October 2, 2025, its acquisition date. "Dashers" generally refers to the independent contractors that use our marketplaces. In certain geographies, Dashers may be known locally as riders, courier partners, or similar. Dashers may also refer to employees or independent contractors of third-party service providers or employees of our local entities.

****Based on grocery orders placed through Ask DoorDash during mid August to mid September 2026.

*****Based on estimates using U.S. restaurant deliveries of limited distance, size and measurement period. Delivery times are not guaranteed.

******Based on sample of U.S. Marketplace deliveries of limited distance and size. Delivery times vary and are not guaranteed.

*******Pricing subject to change

********Based on a sample of U.S. Marketplace deliveries of limited distance and size. Pickup and delivery times vary and are not guaranteed.

*********Timing of receiving refund may vary.

**********As of September 2026.

***********Based on DoorDash internal data from July 2026 - September 2026.

Forward-Looking Statements
This communication contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements generally relate to future events, and such statements in this communication include, but are not limited to, DoorDash’s strategy with respect to its new offerings, services, and features and expectations regarding their availability, performance, outcomes, and benefits. Expectations and beliefs regarding these matters may not materialize, and actual results in future periods are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. For information on potential risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from any results predicted, please see DoorDash’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and its subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, each filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260930265529/en/

press@doordash.com

Source: DoorDash

Key Terms

model context protocol (mcp) technical

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is a system that helps financial models understand and share information about market conditions and data. It’s like a common language that ensures different tools and models work together smoothly, making predictions and decisions more accurate and consistent.