Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal has issued a clear advisory to restaurant partners, urging them to cease the use of AI-generated images for dishes on their menus. Highlighting the impact on customer trust, Goyal stated, “AI-generated food/dish images are misleading,” and that this practice has led to a surge in customer complaints, resulting in higher refunds and lower ratings for restaurants.

Goyal emphasised that Zomato will take decisive action to enforce this policy. “We will actively start removing such images from menus by the end of this month,” he said, noting that the company will also “stop accepting AI-generated dish images as much as we can detect them using automation.” This move reflects Zomato’s commitment to maintaining authenticity and transparency in its platform, ensuring that customers receive an accurate representation of the food they order.

Recognising that some restaurant partners may not have invested in professional food photography, Goyal offered support through Zomato’s catalogue support team. He encouraged restaurant owners to schedule a photo shoot, stating, “This is offered to you as a pass-through cost; Zomato doesn’t make any money as part of this process.” By providing this service, Zomato aims to help restaurants present their dishes more accurately and appealingly.

The advisory also extends to Zomato’s internal practices. Goyal confirmed that the company’s marketing team has been “instructed to not use AI-generated images for marketing purposes hereon.”

Here’s Deepinder Goyal’s statement:

“At Zomato, we use various forms of AI, to make our workflows efficient.

However, one place where we strongly discourage the use of AI is images for dishes in restaurant menus. AI-generated food/dish images are misleading, and we have received numerous customer complaints on this issue. Customers say that this leads to breach of trust, and it leads to higher complaints & refunds, and also, lower ratings.

We urge our restaurant partners to avoid using AI for dish images in restaurant menus from now onwards — we will actively start removing such images from menus by the end of this month. And will stop accepting AI generated dish images (as much as we can detect them using automation).

Restaurant owners – if you haven’t yet invested in real food shots for your menu, please reach out to our catalogue support team, to schedule a photo shoot at catalogue@zomato.com. This is offered to you as pass-through cost; Zomato doesn’t make any money as part of this process.

Please note that this ban also applies to our marketing team – they have been instructed to not use AI generated images for marketing purposes hereon.”