The Secrets of Instacart's AI: What’s Next for Personalized Shopping? with CPO Daniel Danker | E232

The Product Podcast

In this episode of the Product Podcast, join us for a chat with Daniel Danker, CPO at Instacart. Daniel breaks down Instacart Plus and how it’s changing the game with $0 delivery fees and lower costs. Find out how teaming up with Uber Eats has supercharged the value for members by combining grocery and restaurant deliveries into one smooth service. Daniel also talks about sticking to what you’re good at and teaming up for new stuff to keep everything top-notch.
We also dive into how AI is shaking things up at Instacart. Daniel gives us the scoop on cool features like "personal planograms" that tailor the shopping experience to what you like. Plus, we chat about how AI thinking is becoming part of everything they do, driving innovation while keeping the core product strong. Tune in to catch some great insights on leading products, keeping things simple, and how AI is changing the grocery game.
Strategic Partnerships for Enhanced Customer Value:
Form strategic partnerships that complement your services. Instacart’s collaboration with Uber Eats to integrate restaurant deliveries with grocery orders is a great example. Such partnerships can significantly enhance customer convenience and increase your value proposition.
The Importance of Membership Models:
Focus on developing robust membership models that offer tangible benefits. Instacart Plus provides perks like $0 delivery fees and reduced costs, making it attractive to users. Concentrate on your core strengths and consider partnerships to expand your service offerings efficiently.
Organizational Evolution with AI:
Integrate AI thinking across your organization rather than confining it to a single team. This fosters continuous innovation and ensures that AI-driven insights are applied to improve all aspects of the customer experience.
Product Leadership and the Power of Simplicity:
Practice effective product leadership by setting clear strategies, speeding up product delivery, and eliminating operational blockers. Emphasize simplicity in product development, focusing on core elements that drive success and avoiding unnecessary complexity.
Social Links:

- Follow our Podcast on Tik Tok here
- Follow Product School on LinkedIn here
- Join Product School's free events here
- Find out more about Product School here

Brought to you by:
Pendo, the only all-in-one product experience platform for any type of application. With all the tools you need, in one simple-to-use platform, Pendo makes it easy to answer critical questions about how users are engaging with your product—then turn those insights into action—all so you can get your users to do what you actually want them to do. Visit their website to create your free Pendo account today
Eppo, the next-generation A/B testing and feature management platform built for modern growth teams by alums of Airbnb and Stitch Fix. Visit their website, and 10x your experiment velocity.
Credits:

Host: Carlos Gonzalez de Villaumbrosia
Guest: Daniel Danker

Chapter

1. Intro (00:00:00)

2. Partnership with Uber Eats (00:05:51)

3. Evolution of the product (00:06:50)

4. The core value prop of Instacart Plus (00:11:26)

5. How Instacart became successful at grocery (00:14:08)

6. Instacart KPIs strategy (00:19:30)

7. AI use cases at Instacart (00:23:42)

8. The challenges of becoming a public company (00:29:33)

9. How do you ensure that a product has actual impact? (00:31:46)

10. Working hard and working smart (00:34:20)