DoorDash winds down restaurant discovery app Zesty

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Zesty, the AI-powered restaurant discovery app launched last year by DoorDash , will soon be no more.

At least not as a stand-alone app.

In an email sent to Zesty users on Friday, DoorDash said it will incorporate parts of Zesty into the regular DoorDash app. These include personalized restaurant recommendations and "conversational" search.

"We built Zesty to make going out feel more personal, more social, and more intuitive," the email said. "That mission continues - just in a new place."

Zesty launched in December in New York and San Francisco; it was not clear how many markets it eventually expanded to. The home page features a map of each users' area and a search bar encouraging them to "build their going out vibe."

It uses AI to aggregate data from Google Maps, social media and other sources as well as DoorDash itself to generate recommendations based on users' prompts, like "nearby spots open for late night" and "good brunch spots for groups."

The app also has a social feed where users—aka "Zesties"—can post pictures and reviews of their dining experiences. The email did not mention this feature among the list of those that will continue on DoorDash.

At the time, the third-party delivery company seemed intent on making Zesty distinct from DoorDash, saying that it was geared toward customers planning to dine out, while the DoorDash app is more focused on ordering and efficiency.

But it also said it was focused on testing Zesty's product market fit.

Zesty is part of a larger effort by DoorDash to court on-premise diners following its acquisition of reservations system SevenRooms. The company is now offering exclusive reservations to restaurants in certain markets as well as dine-in deals and promotions on its app, for instance.

Zesty, or at least the technology behind it, is designed to help consumers find the right restaurant to go to.

The app will go dark April 17, and parts of the experience will show up on DoorDash "in the near future," the company said.