March 19, 2026 — DoorDash has launched a standalone “Tasks” application that enables its delivery couriers to earn money by completing assignments designed to generate training data for artificial intelligence and robotic systems. The company announced the initiative, which expands earning opportunities for its workforce beyond food and goods delivery.
How the DoorDash Tasks App Works
The new platform allows Dashers to view and accept specific digital tasks with pay shown upfront. According to a company blog post, compensation is determined by the effort and complexity of each activity. Examples include filming everyday actions, such as washing dishes while wearing a body camera, or recording speech in various languages.
“This data helps AI and robotic systems understand the physical world,” DoorDash stated. The original audio and video footage submitted by workers will be used to evaluate both DoorDash’s in-house AI models and those developed by its partners in retail, insurance, hospitality, and technology.
Expanding the Gig Economy Model
DoorDash is not the first delivery platform to leverage its workforce for AI development. In late 2025, Uber announced plans to let drivers earn extra income by completing small jobs like uploading photos to train AI models. The DoorDash Tasks initiative formalizes this trend, creating a new revenue stream within the existing gig economy framework.
In addition to the standalone app, delivery couriers will find new digital “Tasks” listed directly within the main Dasher application. These can include helping a restaurant by taking real photos of its menu items or capturing images of a hotel entrance to aid other drivers with navigation.
Strategic Partnerships and Data Use
One notable task involves DoorDash’s existing partnership with autonomous vehicle company Waymo. Couriers can get paid for simply closing the doors of self-driving cars after completing a delivery. This highlights how mundane physical interactions are valuable for refining robotic systems.
“The goal of Tasks is to help more businesses understand what’s happening on the ground and gather new insights, all while giving Dashers a new way to earn on their own terms,” said Ethan Beatty, General Manager of DoorDash Tasks, in the official announcement. Beatty emphasized the scale of the potential data collection, noting the network of over 8 million Dashers across the U.S.
Availability and Future Plans
The in-app Tasks and the standalone Tasks app are currently available in select U.S. markets. The service is not offered in California, New York City, Seattle, and Colorado at launch. DoorDash has indicated plans to expand into more task types and additional countries in the future.
This move underscores the growing value of real-world, human-performed data for advancing machine learning. As companies seek to build AI that interacts seamlessly with physical environments, gig workers represent a distributed, on-demand workforce capable of generating the necessary training material. For more details on the official launch, you can read the original DoorDash announcement. Industry observers are watching this development closely, as covered in a Bloomberg report on the data sourcing strategy.
This article was produced with AI assistance and reviewed by our editorial team for accuracy and quality.
