UK-based food delivery company Just Eat apologized for its latest slew of AI-generated images on its platform. Just Eat used AI-generated images to provide visuals for items that didn’t have accompanying pictures. Users on social media share frustrations on AI-generated posters, flyers and menus that falsely advertise businesses’ products and services.
“Just Eat? Just Slop.”
The AI technology for Just Eat misinterpreted many items listed for order, resulting in some comically frustrating results. A “jacket potato” showing a puffer jacket with potatoes, “garlic bread plain” in the shape of an airplane, and “bacon & egg soda” floating in a bubbly drink.
These sound funny, but in the era of generative AI as a cheaper alternative to designers or handmade promotional materials, this exacerbates growing AI fatigue.
Food delivery giants DoorDash and Uber announced the use of their own AI tools in August. Their AI tools focus on summarizing customer reviews, menu descriptions, and food photos. “We’re using AI to detect and enhance low-quality food images – improving lighting, resolution, framing, and plating – to help restaurants showcase their dishes more accurately while elevating the customer experience from discovery to checkout.”
Just Eat tags each image as “AI-generated” if it used the tool.
Are Apologies Enough?
Users were quick to make fun of the images, but the tide soon changed. Across multiple social media platforms, people expressed frustration towards Just Eat for using AI images to promote its business. More examples of businesses using AI in advertising quickly gained traction alongside Just Eat’s pictures.
In a statement to the BBC, a spokesperson for Just Eat said, “We’ve been trialing Al-enhanced images and as with any new technology, it isn’t always quite right the first time. We’re sorry for any inaccurate images that have been posted. We’re in the process of removing them and have paused rolling this out while we further develop the tool to ensure it best serves our partners and customers.”
For years now, through normalization of regular AI use, trends show consumers are averse to AI-generated ads. The images are uncanny and disturbing, and falsely advertise by showing fake images of businesses’ goods.
In July, San Francisco-based café and bar Grind & Unwind faced online backlash and vandalism after its owners decided to post an AI-generated menu on their front window.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) defines advertising and marketing basics “…must be truthful, cannot be deceptive or unfair, and must be evidence-based.” Many consumers argue that using AI-generated images and descriptions is false advertising.
A recurring sentiment around AI-generated menus, images, and flyers for small businesses generally says the same thing: “All they had to do was take a picture of the actual food they serve.”
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