Startup Bites shows how AI agents could reshape food delivery economics

DoorDash, which handled nearly 1 billion orders last quarter and earned $4.5 billion in revenue, recently took aim at a tiny competitor: Bites, a pre-seed startup operating in the Bay Area with just 300 restaurants signed up. Yet DoorDash's defensive warning to restaurants hints at a larger reckoning brewing in the food delivery industry as AI agents begin to disintermediate the platforms that dominate online ordering.

The shift from apps to AI agents#

Tech companies have long promoted a future in which AI "agents" handle everyday tasks—scheduling, shopping, answering emails—without users visiting websites or apps directly. Should this vision materialize, platforms like DoorDash stand to lose control of customer relationships. They would no longer be able to showcase promoted listings, offer discounts, or surface ads. This dynamic has become known as "the DoorDash problem", and Bites exemplifies it precisely.

The most visible conflict so far involves Amazon and Perplexity. Amazon sued the AI shopping agent in 2025 and has since blocked other AI agents—including Meta's Muse—from browsing and transacting on its platform. Amazon's advertising business alone generated $19.8 billion in the second quarter, heavily dependent on sponsored product placements that become invisible when AI intermediaries do the shopping.

How Bites challenges the incumbents#

Bites' model is straightforward: It charges restaurants a flat $1 surcharge per order instead of DoorDash's 15–30 percent commission. Diners can place orders directly through ChatGPT, bypassing the third-party platform entirely and going straight to the restaurant. Bites integrates with point-of-sale systems like Toast and Square to pull menus into language models and route orders directly.

The price difference is stark. The Verge tested both platforms with an identical order: $56.73 through Bites, $70.29 on DoorDash—the latter charging $11 more for the same item plus higher service fees.

One early restaurateur using Bites reports his order mix has shifted dramatically: before, 80 percent came through DoorDash; now 65 percent flow via Bites, with DoorDash dropping to 25 percent. He credits Bites with healthier profit margins on those orders.

The restaurant grievance#

Delivery platforms have long frustrated restaurant owners. Commissions are steep, and data withholding is a major sticking point: DoorDash typically shares only a customer's first name, last initial, and order details—not the direct contact information that would let restaurants build loyalty, send discounts, or provide support. A New York City law attempted to mandate data sharing, but . Bites reverses this: orders and customer contact come directly to the restaurant.