AI recipe apps grow in popularity, but phones already offer free help

In short: More people are using AI recipe apps to plan meals and cut waste, even though many similar everyday cooking tasks can be done with free tools already on a phone.

What's going on

AI recipe apps are becoming a popular way to decide what to cook. These apps can suggest recipes based on what you already have, your diet needs, and your taste. Think of it like a smart cookbook that asks what is in your fridge before it makes recommendations.

Some services claim measurable benefits when meals are tailored to the person. One set of figures says people following health-related diets, like for diabetes, improved their diet “rules” by 50% when using personalized recipes. The same data claims 45% higher satisfaction with meals and a 25% drop in ingredient costs by planning around what gets used.

This is showing up beyond home cooking. The source notes that packaged food companies are also using AI to spot trends and suggest ingredient swaps, and that 71% had adopted AI by 2024. Popular consumer tools mentioned include FoodsGPT, DishGen, ChefGPT, SuperCook, and SideChef AI.

What to watch

You may not need a new app to get many of the practical benefits. Built-in voice assistants like Siri, Google Assistant, and Alexa can find “recipes with chicken and rice,” set timers, convert cups to grams, and read steps out loud. A calculator and notes app can scale a recipe and track a shopping list, and your camera can help you check labels or snap a quick “pantry inventory” photo. The big question is whether people will pay for deeper personalization, or stick with the free tools they already have.

Source: NYTimes