Instacart is mercilessly mocked over AI-generated recipes

Instacart has faced furious backlash after releasing a host of AI-generated recipes that call for users to mix up a variety of fake ingredients – while also sharing a number of ‘repulsive’ images of what the dishes are supposed to look like. 

The grocery delivery app sent stomachs churning when it showed off the AI-generated food photos and recipes last month. 

In addition to looking unappetizing, some of the recipes include ingredients that don’t exist or are physically impossible to make – including one desert that required budding chefs to replace a chunk of a mug with a brownie. 

Although the images appear to have since been taken down by Instacart, that didn’t stop people on the web from scrutinizing the food service and branding it ‘lazy’ as they slammed the AI-generated food for looking ‘toxic.’ 

Despite the photos being scrubbed from Instacart’s website, people have taken to to share the photos and ridicule the app. 

One recipe, called the Hot Dog Stir Fry, shows a sliced hot dog with the inside of a tomato, surrounded by cucumbers, tomatoes and more. 

Meanwhile, the Microwave Mug Brownie with Chocolate Chips, was missing a part of the mug and replaced with the chocolatey treat. 

The Grilled Salmon Ceaser Salad photo sees a lemon and piece of lettuce blending together to create a scaly topping. 

The Dragon Fruit Smoothie Bowl was another recipe slammed by people on the web who claimed the pink soup looked like something out of Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. 

Other dishes that left people stunned were the Simple Steamed Broccoli Crowns, Grilled Hot Dogs, Simple Brined Whole Chicken, and the Grape Salad with Cream Cheese. 

Instacart also shared AI-generated recipes and photos for Chunky Apple Sauce, Cheesy Doritos Nachos, Chocolate Chip Cookies Without Eggs, and more. 

People on the web flooded Reddit and criticized the grocery delivery app. 

One person said: ‘And I thought I was lazy.’ 

Someone else wrote: ‘Those are rough wow. Pretty low effort.’ 

‘Hot dog stir fry just sounds awful,’ another person commented. 

‘These make me uncomfortable,’ added someone else. 

Someone else said: ‘These give me the heebie jeebies.’ 

‘That’s funny,’ added another person. 

Another person said: ‘This is really embarrassing for Instacart, wow.’

‘AI food isn’t just repulsive, it’s actually scary kind of. Like they’re just images but the level of heebie jeebies I get looking at them is unreal. 

‘Like it’s like discovering an alien bug, I feel the urge to smash all of these with a big heavy shoe and then also possibly set it on fire to make sure it’s really dead,’ commented another person. 

Another person added: ‘That dragon fruit bowl looks like something Willy Wonka would make and it’d turn you into a pink blob.’ 

‘Some of them look fine but the Dragon Fruit Smoothie Bowl looks toxic,’ said someone else. 

According to , Instacart has since deleted the images but had previously disclosed that they were AI-generated because the company was ‘optimizing for best user experience.’ 

AI-generated food has been spotted in other areas as well, including on Uber Eats, where it showed a sweet treat in replacement for a ‘medium pie’ at a pizza shop. 

Customers have long slammed the effects of AI on their food. 

According to a , people noted that although AI food imagery can look aesthetically pleasing, it’s ‘untrustworthy.’ 

AI has made a powerful mark on the food industry in the last year.

Burger fans in Pasadena, California will soon get to taste the : a patented, AI-powered, short-order-cooking robot named Flippy.  

said the new dining spot will be ‘the world’s first operating restaurant where both ordering and every single cooking process are fully automated.’

In addition to Flippy, responsible for deep frying chicken nuggets and French fries, a fellow ‘BurgerBot’ will be grilling up patties, and a biometric payment system, PopID, will take customers’ orders.