"Don't just eat slop – eat AI slop!" Just Eat pauses roll out of generative AI photos after some hilarious results, but they still seem keen to eliminate real food photography

Popular food delivery brand Just Eat has had to call an abrupt halt to its generative AI test – and apologize – because the tech simply didn't understand the menus that it was creating pictures for (and customers started to share the surreal results).

The plan was for restaurants that use the service to deliver to customers to be able to visibly represent their menus even if they don't have their own pictures of the food, as the A.I. would generate it for them.

Food photographers, however, might have a little longer before the rise of the machines can replace them. There are still reasons to worry (which I'll get to), but first it's worth enjoying generative AI's particular type of creativity...

Probably the highlight was a 'jacket potato', for which the A.I drew a winter jacket covered in baked potatoes.

Others included 'Tiger Prawn' which appeared to have little tigers swimming in the bowl of food.

There was also bacon and egg soda bread which the AI confused with a soda drink, so it created a drink with floating bacon and egg.

Part of that issue might have been resolved if the AI understood that the use of 'soda' referred to an Irish bread, and not a fizzy drink. 'Soda' for drinks is less common in British English, but thinking American is an issue we've seen with Ring camera's A.I and wildlife too.

Other treats were a 'Cheese Roll' that was generated as six pieces of (admittedly possibly cheese-filled) sushi.

There was another problem for Just Eat's attempt to make life easier for its clients (the restaurants). Errors in the client's menu submissions.

One had misspelt 'plain' as 'plane' on its garlic bread menu, so the gen-AI had created a shaped piece of garlic bread, potentially very disappointing for a customer.

And herein lies the worry that should still rest with both photographers and those inclined to order their food for delivery (yes, me, occasionally, since you ask):

Just Eat have stopped for now and apologized, so restaurants need to supply photos again now. That should mean photographers are still required (where the restaurants feel a photo is needed at all).

It occurs to me that some of the restaurants might choose to use gen-AI, but presumably a human will check. (not to sat that the restaurants won't do their own generating.

But the key point that should worry people is that the reason this feature is being switched off is, essentially, because they were 'found out'; it didn't work well enough to convince people to order their food and then not complain afterward.

After all, if I'm ordering food and I see a photo, I'd be instinctively convinced. But in practice I'd be looking at a generative image created not even by the restaurant, but by a service one step further down the chain.

That AI generation is still their goal, I presume. They just don't want to be publicly embarrassed.

Incidentally, the best camera for food photography is likely a better solution, and if you need some tips read how to shoot appetizing photos with a basic setup – it needn't be expensive and it's a lot less dishonest than generated images.