Just Eat's AI menu blunders raise questions over what customers are really ordering

Just Eat is removing inaccurate AI-generated food pictures and pausing further image creation. The technology confused menu descriptions, turning soda bread into a fizzy drink and cheese rolls into sushi-like creations. The blunders have raised concerns about whether AI images can give customers a misleading impression of their meals. Just Eat has apologized after its experiment with artificial intelligence to create restaurant food pictures went badly wrong, producing bizarre images that left customers and social media users baffled. The food delivery platform had been testing AI-generated images to showcase menu items that did not yet have photographs. But the technology struggled to interpret some descriptions, creating unusual combinations such as bacon and eggs floating in a glass of cola and chips poking out of muffins. A Just Eat spokesperson said the company was “in the process of removing” the incorrect images and would stop generating new ones until the technology had been further developed. “We work with tens of thousands of small restaurants on their food imagery, including funding professional local photographers,” the spokesperson told the BBC. “We've been trialling AI-enhanced images, and as with any new technology, it isn't always quite right the first time.” The company’s trial highlights the difficulties businesses can face when using AI to speed up routine tasks, particularly when the technology has to interpret language in a specific context. When menu descriptions confuse AI Some of the most unusual images appear to have been caused by AI misunderstanding the names of dishes. A Belfast cafe's bacon and egg soda bread was represented as a glass of fizzy drink containing cooked bacon and an egg. The system appears to have interpreted “soda” as a soft drink rather than part of the name of the bread. Spelling errors may have added to the confusion. The Instagram account @uknewestfoods shared an image of garlic bread shaped like an airplane, apparently after the word “plain” was mistaken for “plane”. A cheese roll, normally bread filled with cheese, was transformed into slabs of cheese rolled into a sushi-like shape. The pictures have circulated on social media, with members of the Just Eat UK subreddit sharing more examples of the AI's unusual interpretations. Some users found the images funny, while others questioned whether the pictures were useful at all. Customers want to see the real food The blunders have also revived questions about whether AI-generated food pictures belong on delivery apps, even when the images are more realistic. One Instagram user questioned why customers would want to see AI versions of restaurant dishes instead of photographs of the actual food. “I want to see what the dish actually looks like as it helps me decide who to order from or what to order,” the user wrote. “These 'perfect' AI versions just lead to disappointment if that's what you think your meal will look like.” Just Eat labels images generated using AI, but as per reports available, some of the unusual pictures were still visible on menus despite the company's stated removal process. For customers, the distinction matters. A menu photograph can influence which restaurant they choose and what they expect to receive. If an image is inaccurate, even an amusing mistake could leave someone disappointed with their order. The incident is a reminder that AI can help businesses create content quickly, but interpreting a menu description is not the same as showing customers what a restaurant actually serves.