Skip to main content

Just in time for Super Bowl Sunday, Domino’s bot now offers full-menu ordering

Domino's delivery in line.
Keith Nelson/Digital Trends
It may just be the easiest food around, and now, it’s also the easiest food to order. Last summer, Domino’s officially launched its Facebook Messenger chatbot that lets you order a pie with just one word: “PIZZA.” Because really, why complicate something so … uncomplicated? And now, just days before the Super Bowl (in which the national meal probably becomes pizza), Domino’s has updated its bot to allow customers to place entire order.

Named “Dom,” the bot is described as “an artificially intelligent customer whiz designed to help superfans get their No. 1 fix of cheesy food heaven.” Previously, in order to use Dom, you had to first create a Domino’s profile and establish pre-order settings on Dominos.com. But now, you can access the entirety of the menu directly from Messenger.

“Domino’s is one of the first brands to use the Messenger platform in this way, allowing pizza lovers to request a freshly handmade delivery,” the company noted last year. It’s true that Domino’s beat Pizza Hut (and other chains) to the punch, launching first in the United Kingdom before making its way across the pond.

The only drawback is that you’ll still have to pay for your pizza, wings, or whatever else you order with cash. Dom, unfortunately, doesn’t employ the payments beta Messenger rolled out last fall.

This is just the latest in the pizza chain’s continuing quest to make ordering pizza almost too easy. Earlier in 2016, Domino’s launched its Easy Order feature, which lets hungry customers buy a pizza by doing nothing more than pressing a button — either on their Apple Watch or online. And it looks like the pie purveyor is looking for more ways to integrate technology with their toppings.

“We’re delighted to allow our customers to order direct from Messenger – with 1 billion monthly active people using Messenger each month – it’s the obvious choice for Domino’s,” said Nick Dutch, head of digital at Domino’s. “We want to make ordering our freshly handmade pizza as easy as possible so we’re always on the look-out for new ways in which we can do this. Just message ‘pizza’ — or send an emoji.  It really couldn’t be easier.”

Super Bowl Sunday ranks among the busiest pizza delivery days for Domino’s in the United States, and this year, the chain hopes to sell 12 million pies. That’s five times as much as any other given Sunday. And you can become part of that statistic simply by sending a message on Messenger.

Article originally published in August 2016. Updated on 02-01-2017: Added news that you can now order off Domino’s entire menu from Dom.

Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
Bluesky barrels toward 1 million new sign-ups in a day
Bluesky social media app logo.

Social media app Bluesky has picked nearly a million new users just a day after exiting its invitation-only beta and opening to everyone.

In a post on its main rival -- X (formerly Twitter) -- Bluesky shared a chart showing a sudden boost in usage on the app, which can now be downloaded for free for iPhone and Android devices.

Read more
How to make a GIF from a YouTube video
woman sitting and using laptop

Sometimes, whether you're chatting with friends or posting on social media, words just aren't enough -- you need a GIF to fully convey your feelings. If there's a moment from a YouTube video that you want to snip into a GIF, the good news is that you don't need complex software to so it. There are now a bunch of ways to make a GIF from a YouTube video right in your browser.

If you want to use desktop software like Photoshop to make a GIF, then you'll need to download the YouTube video first before you can start making a GIF. However, if you don't want to go through that bother then there are several ways you can make a GIF right in your browser, without the need to download anything. That's ideal if you're working with a low-specced laptop or on a phone, as all the processing to make the GIF is done in the cloud rather than on your machine. With these options you can make quick and fun GIFs from YouTube videos in just a few minutes.
Use GIFs.com for great customization
Step 1: Find the YouTube video that you want to turn into a GIF (perhaps a NASA archive?) and copy its URL.

Read more
I paid Meta to ‘verify’ me — here’s what actually happened
An Instagram profile on an iPhone.

In the fall of 2023 I decided to do a little experiment in the height of the “blue check” hysteria. Twitter had shifted from verifying accounts based (more or less) on merit or importance and instead would let users pay for a blue checkmark. That obviously went (and still goes) badly. Meanwhile, Meta opened its own verification service earlier in the year, called Meta Verified.

Mostly aimed at “creators,” Meta Verified costs $15 a month and helps you “establish your account authenticity and help[s] your community know it’s the real us with a verified badge." It also gives you “proactive account protection” to help fight impersonation by (in part) requiring you to use two-factor authentication. You’ll also get direct account support “from a real person,” and exclusive features like stickers and stars.

Read more