New York Times Cooking Adds AI Recipe Tools

The New York Times has introduced an optional AI-powered ingredient substitution tool for its cooking app subscribers.

Updated on Oct. 28, 2026 in Cooking

Bold vector editorial illustration showing a stainless steel whisk, a ceramic bowl of herbs, and a wooden spoon, representing culinary innovation. — The New York Times has integrated an AI-powered ingredient substitution tool into its Cooking app, available for iOS subscribers to enhance culinary utility. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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The New York Times has integrated new artificial intelligence features into its Cooking application, allowing users to suggest ingredient substitutions for recipes. The tool is currently available to subscribers using the iOS version of the app.

Why it matters

The company developed these features in response to user requests, aiming to expand digital utility within the cooking platform. The product and engineering teams have worked to ensure the tool aligns with established culinary expert standards.

The new feature is currently available to subscribers of the $390 annual service. While the tool is optional, analysis of 159 reader comments shows 77% expressed negative feedback compared to 14% who reacted positively.

The players

The New York Times

This media organization publishes news and maintains a digital cooking platform for its subscribers.

The details

The AI tool builds upon previous digital features like recipe scaling and measurement conversions already present in the app. Cooking staff members evaluated sample chatbot responses to ensure the technology meets the platform's professional standards.

October 28, 2026: The New York Times published information regarding the update.

Culture Shift

This update follows the established pattern of the New York Times Cooking app's recipe scaling features. It reflects a broader trend of publishers integrating generative AI into subscription products to automate common kitchen tasks.

Subscribers on iOS devices can now manually toggle the optional tool to generate substitution suggestions for their recipes. Users who pay the $390 annual fee should expect a gradual rollout as the company monitors performance.

The takeaway

Users maintain full control over their cooking experience as the new AI tool is entirely optional. Subscribers can continue to rely on traditional recipe formats while the company gathers feedback to refine the new technology.