- Updated: March 20, 2026
- 4 min read
DoorDash Launches Tasks App to Pay Couriers for AI Training Videos
Image Credits:Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket / Getty Images Apps DoorDash launches a new ‘Tasks’ app that pays couriers to submit videos to train AI Aisha Malik 9:14 AM PDT · March 19, 2026 DoorDash announced on Thursday that it’s launching a new, stand-alone “Tasks” app that will allow the company to pay its delivery couriers to complete assignments aimed at improving AI and robotic systems.Delivery couriers will be able to earn money by completing activities like filming everyday tasks or recording themselves speaking in another language, DoorDash says. “This data helps AI and robotic systems understand the physical world,” DoorDash wrote in a blog post. “Pay is shown upfront and determined based on effort and complexity of the activity.” Bloomberg reports that the original audio and video footage submitted by workers will be used to evaluate both the company’s in-house AI models and those developed by its partners in the retail, insurance, hospitality, and technology sectors. One example of a task involves asking a courier to capture footage of their hands washing at least five dishes while wearing a body camera, holding each clean dish in frame for a few seconds before moving on to the next, Bloomberg reports.DoorDash isn’t the only company tapping its delivery workforce to train AI models. Late last year, Uber announced plans to let drivers earn extra income by completing small jobs, such as uploading photos to help train AI models. Image Credits:DoorDash In addition to the stand-alone Tasks app, delivery couriers will see new digital “Tasks” listed on the Dasher app.Examples include helping a restaurant showcase its menu by taking real photos of its dishes or taking photos of a hotel entrance so delivery drivers can find the drop-off location more easily. DoorDash’s partnership with Waymo, where delivery couriers are paid to close the doors of the self-driving cars, is also listed in the app as a task.“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, DoorDash Tasks, in the blog post. “There are more than 8 million Dashers who can reach almost anywhere in the U.S. and who want to earn flexibly beyond delivery. That’s a powerful capability to digitize the physical world.” The in-app Tasks and the stand-alone Tasks app are available in select places in the U.S., excluding California, New York City, Seattle, and Colorado. DoorDash plans to expand into more task types and countries in the future. Topics AI, Apps, Commerce, DoorDash Aisha Malik Consumer News Reporter Aisha is a consumer news reporter at TechCrunch. Prior to joining the publication in 2021, she was a telecom reporter at MobileSyrup.Aisha holds an honours bachelor’s degree from University of Toronto and a master’s degree in journalism from Western University. You can contact or verify outreach from Aisha by emailing aisha@techcrunch.com or via encrypted message at aisha_malik.01 on Signal. View Bio June 9 Boston, MA Actively scaling? Fundraising? Planning your next launch?TechCrunch Founder Summit 2026 delivers tactical playbooks and direct access to 1,000+ founders and investors who are building, backing, and closing.REGISTER NOW Most Popular Nvidia is quietly building a multibillion-dollar behemoth to rival its chips business Rebecca Szkutak Why Garry Tan’s Claude Code setup has gotten so much love, and hate Julie Bort Apple quietly launches AirPods Max 2 Aisha Malik The billionaires made a promise — now some want out Connie Loizos US Army announces contract with Anduril worth up to $20B Anthony Ha Honda is killing its EVs — and any chance of competing in the future Tim De Chant ‘Not built right the first time’ — Musk’s xAI is starting over again, again Tim Fernholz Loading the next article Error loading the next article
Andrii Bidochko
CTO UBOS
Andrii Bidochko is an AI entrepreneur and researcher focused on AI agents, reinforcement learning, and autonomous systems. He writes about the technologies shaping the future of machine intelligence, from frontier models and agent architectures to real-world AI applications.