Something is cooking in the AI food space.
BakeBot is the first AI assistant that answers cooking questions, generates recipe images, digitizes handwritten recipe cards, saves recipes online for easy sharing and publishes digital cookbooks. Tested by home cooks, it is available for free.
“It’s like talking to a chef in the kitchen who knows how to cook,” Babette Pepaj, co-founder and chief executive of BakeSpace.com, an 18-year-old food social network and recipe swap that recently developed the bot, said in an interview. “People are so much more comfortable in this era of chat, and want to feel like someone is talking to them like a friend. It is reassuring and empowering.”
Pepaj, who got her start producing and directing unscripted-TV shows (“The Real World,” “Road Rules”) before giving it up and starting a cooking site, wanted to create a two-way conversation in the kitchen rather than a person staring at a laptop with a recipe.
When asked, the bot offers suggestions on dishes and recipe revisions. “Say you want to create a desert that is gluten-free, sparkly and with Taylor Swift theme. The bot will offer ideas,” Pepaj said. “Or what if a recipe requires buttermilk and you don’t have it? The bot tells you how to make buttermilk or suggest something else.”
BakeBot uses advanced contextual AI that taps into the collective know-how of the grassroots BakeSpace.com community, which numbers more than 1.5 million diverse member profiles and 100,000-plus member-submitted recipes. The bot adapts to each user’s cooking style, experience level and preferences; it can also create recipes from scratch or a fresh take on a traditional recipe, she said.
“It takes culinary AI to a new, more human level by combining technology with the heart and soul of a grassroots community,” Pepaj said.
The interjection of an AI bot to assist in cooking is one of a series of vertical markets being reshaped by the technology. And it may be among one of the most practical uses.
Some 3.5 million restaurants worldwide use AI in some form, and more than 700,000 cafes worldwide already use AI-based systems to track customer preferences and recommend products, according to data from Astute Analytica.
The AI market for food and beverages is expected to reach $9.68 billion this year, and grow to $48.99 billion by 2029, according to Mordor Intelligence. Major players in the space include TOMRA Sorting Solutions AS, Rockwell Automation Inc., ABB, Honeywell International Inc. and Key Technology Inc.
“Everyone eats,” Pepaj said.
