NYT Cooking tests AI recipe tool, and some users object
The New York Times is trialling an AI feature in its Cooking app that adjusts recipes, and some subscribers are unhappy that it cannot be switched off.
The facts
- According to The Verge, NYT Cooking is testing an AI feature that suggests ingredient and equipment swaps and scales recipes to any number of servings.
- The tool is available to all Cooking subscribers on the iOS app and is being rolled out gradually, with wider availability promised "soon". Customised recipes stay private and cannot be shared.
- Some readers raised concerns about AI's environmental impact and its effect on the user experience. Senior editor Genevieve Ko said there is no way to disable it "at this time", and called it optional to use.
- The Verge reports that NYT Cooking previously used AI to convert measurements and to halve or double recipes. A Times spokesperson said comments were closed after four days, which is standard practice.
Case notes · Danny's take
Why it matters
This is AI creeping into a product people liked because it felt simple and human. The feature itself is small and practical. The reaction is the real signal: users judge AI by whether they get a choice, not by how clever it is. Swapping spinach for kale is useful. Being unable to switch it off is what people remember.
For builders
If you ship AI inside an existing product, give users an off switch and say plainly what the model does. Narrow, useful tasks like scaling and substitutions are easier to defend than a blanket AI push. Watch the feedback, because adoption and backlash can arrive together.
Not financial advice. Do your own investigation.
This story was summarised with AI from The Verge's reporting and checked against our editorial policy. Danny's take reflects his views. Disclaimer.
Danny Walter
Founder of Moon Republic, Volt Terminal and Moon Republic Academy. Author of The Market Is a Crime Scene and After the Applause.