Swiggy forms five-member dedicated team to work on artificial intelligence

Swiggy has formed a dedicated team of roughly five employees focused solely on identifying new uses of artificial intelligence (AI) throughout the company, reported Moneycontrol.

The food and grocery delivery firm has been experimenting with technology by using AI to create images of food products and, in some cases, descriptions of them as well. 

Even Gurugram-based Zomato, Swiggy’s biggest competitor, has been embracing AI to improve customer service and optimise business processes.

Chief executive officer of the company’s food marketplace, Rohit Kapoor, said that AI is no longer an area of curiosity and that it is an active workstream.

"AI is also an area where we don't know what we don't know. So we're not adopting a deterministic approach by saying it'll just be implemented in one area. It'll be implemented across the board," Kapoor said.

Also Read: Here's how artificial intelligence is revolutionising the food tech biz

While lowering total operational costs through the use of AI was one goal for Swiggy, it was not the only one.

"Until and unless we are boundaryless in our thinking on this one right now, we will make a mistake... Cost is only one aspect," Kapoor noted.

More recently, the company released WhatToEat, a feature that promotes food discovery by allowing customers to explore curated options based on their moods and appetites.

Swiggy has also used AI, usually in the form of bots, to assist customers with their inquiries. "Every company has to automate customer complaints at some point, and we do it where it makes sense... Can we provide better refunds? Yes, we should do much better with refunds," Kapoor said.

He did, however, add that consumer refunds are an "insignificant number" in the company's profit and loss (P&L) statement and will not amount to anything major beyond a point.