Just Eat Takeaway.com also brings the AI-powered voice assistant to Italy

Just Eat Takeaway.com announces the arrival in Italy of the new artificial intelligence-powered voice assistant, available on iOS and Android, which allows users to order food, groceries, pharmacy and beauty products by speaking naturally directly to the app.

A strategic step

This launch marks a fundamental strategic step for Just Eat Takeaway.com, which is evolving from a simple transactional marketplace into a highly personalised personal assistant based onAI, with the aim of simplifying and enriching people's everyday lives. Faced with the so-called “choice overload”, the service – which began as a text chat acting as a food concierge – is being renewed to offer a smooth and immediate interaction between typing and voice, capable of providing tailored recommendations shaped in real time around users' preferences.

A truly understanding assistant

Thanks to the most advanced models of generative artificial intelligence, the new technology can understand the customer's actual intent: it can interpret relevant information and extract the meaning of a request even when faced with a “stream of consciousness”, confused speech or informal and imprecise wording. Users can therefore carry out complex searches that previously would have required several steps and the application of multiple filters: simply say a single sentence such as “I fancy something spicy for tonight, but not the usual pizza” to instantly receive targeted suggestions. In addition, the ability to understand dozens of languages makes the interaction completely natural for any user.

The first results in the UK

The first data relating to the launch in the United Kingdom confirm the effectiveness of the solution. Those who use voice commands find what they want around 40% faster than with AI text chat alone and are 30% more likely to choose a recommended dish or restaurant than those who rely on the usual manual search.

The innovation has been developed with a strong focus on user protection: the tool was designed with strict safety protocols to prevent inappropriate content and is fully compliant with GDPR privacy regulations. Conversations are not stored, ensuring the same high data protection standards already in place on the app.

A more flexible user experience

Just Eat's vision Takeaway.com has always been to simplify everyday life. Thanks to this integrated interaction model, users can switch between the keyboard and voice commands at any time and with complete ease, without needing to keep their eyes constantly fixed on the screen. A more flexible user experience for everyone, which also proves to be a valuable inclusion tool for users with visual impairments or reduced mobility. Looking ahead, this approach will be extended to new usage scenarios, such as hands-free orders from the car, messaging platforms and games consoles.

A broad tech ecosystem

This customer-focused innovation forms part of Just Eat's broad technology ecosystem Takeaway.com – a group that in 2025 managed 592 million orders globally – and already supports partner restaurants with advanced tools for targeted advertising and accurate delivery-time estimates. "Today, the real challenge in the food delivery sector is not finding a restaurant, but deciding what to order – says Daniele Contini, country manager of Just Eat Italy – every evening, millions of people ask themselves the same question: 'What shall we eat tonight?'. While over the years we have worked to make the service increasingly comprehensive, today's goal is to make choosing a dish simpler and more immediate. Our AI-powered voice assistant was created precisely to overcome that initial indecision, allowing customers to describe what they are looking for in their own words, exactly as they would to a friend. The future of the service lies in making it easy and enjoyable to discover the ideal offering for every moment".

This article was translated from the original Italian version with the assistance of artificial intelligence. In case of discrepancies, please refer to the original Italian version.