NYT Cooking's New AI Fixes Your Dinner, But Watch Your Cake

The New York Times has introduced an AI assistant inside its Cooking app, available to subscribers on iOS. The tool lets you ask questions about a recipe, like what to substitute for an ingredient you don't have, or how to scale it for more people. It's designed to save you a trip to the store and make weeknight cooking less stressful. The assistant is trained on reader comments and editor-approved recipes, so it gives practical advice—but it's not flawless. In testing, it almost told the user to use half the butter in a cake, a mistake that could ruin your dessert.

The assistant works by generating a modified version of the recipe based on your request. For example, if you're missing chicken thighs but have tenders, it will adjust cooking times and suggest new ingredients. It highlights the changes so you can see what's different and revert to the original if you want. The tool won't change the original recipe—it creates a new one. This is a smart move because it preserves the tested recipe while giving you flexibility. The AI also won't agree to requests that would make the dish taste bad, according to the Times.

While the assistant is helpful, it's not a replacement for your own judgment. The cake incident shows that AI can make mistakes, especially with baking, where precise measurements matter. The tool is currently only on iOS, so Android users will have to wait. Also, it's only for subscribers, so you'll need to pay for NYT Cooking to use it. Despite these limitations, it's a promising use of AI that could make cooking more accessible and less wasteful.

Overall, the NYT Cooking AI assistant is a useful kitchen helper that can save you time and reduce food waste. But like any tool, it requires a bit of oversight. For busy professionals who want to cook more at home, it's a welcome addition—just double-check the butter.