problem
The cost of not taking a risk was higher than taking one. 80% of users on our platform were already performing natural language searches at the end of 2025. If we didn’t adapt, we predicted customers would move to third party services, and our product would be reduced to fulfillment.
root cause
Our global search experience was designed around single keyword search queries, which forced users into a very specific user flow: select vendor > browse menu > select dish. Changing the search interaction meant changing our search foundation.
solution
We introduced a conversational AI search assistant to match ther various ways users actually approach restaurant searching and grocery shopping. Users can find dishes for groups or by dietary preference, or populate a grocery list based on recipes or past purchases. Our solution is intended to guide users through the common constraints of our service by giving context and providing options, whether its replacing an out of stock item or finding a similar restaurant if their favorite is closing soon.
impact
Our beta experience launched September 2026, and we are continuously learning, iterating and adding use cases to make this experience more usable for our customers. Our UX team worked closely with the global search to define the experience through continuous user feedback, enabling other brands in the Delivery Hero portoflio to accelerate their learnings and their own conversational search launch.
my role
Initiated this direction by organizing a cross-organizational workshop with the global search team on the future of search, then facilitating a 2 week design sprint to ideate on new directions. I prepared a presentation of our direction which we shared at the Global Search Summit – a gathering for all Dellivery Hero brands. Result: the conversational search direction was prioritized by the global search team.
A talented UX design & research pair moved the direction forward through continuous customer interviews and prototype iterations. When the progress stalled, I initiated a cross-functional team workshop to unblock and realign on direction.
I also supported through hands-on UI guidance on colors and animation, UX copy guidance on the conversational voice and specific query responses, and ongoing guidance on the adaptive UX to the specific query responses.
