Just Eat has paused the rollout of AI-generated food images on its platform after a series of bizarre and inaccurate pictures sparked criticism from customers.

It has begun removing the images after its artificial intelligence technology misinterpreted menu descriptions, producing unusual depictions of dishes sold by independent restaurants and takeaways.

Among the blunders was a breakfast bap illustrated as sausages and a fried egg floating in a glass of cola, while a listing for garlic bread was transformed into an aeroplane made from bread.

Other examples included a miniature burger served in a sauce pot for a burger sauce listing, and sushi rolls filled with cheese for an item described as a cheese roll.

The images quickly attracted attention on social media, with customers questioning why the platform was using AI-generated pictures rather than photographs of the dishes being sold.

The trial was introduced to help smaller independent restaurants create menu imagery without the expense of professional food photography, with Just Eat using menu descriptions to generate pictures automatically.

However, the technology struggled to interpret some dishes correctly, raising concerns about the accuracy of the images shown to customers.

A Just Eat spokesperson said: “We want partners on our platform to show photos that accurately reflect their dishes so that our customers can be confident in what they are ordering and happy when their food arrives.”

The company apologised for the errors and confirmed it was removing the inaccurate images while further developing the technology.

Just Eat added that it already works with tens of thousands of smaller restaurant partners on food imagery, including funding professional local photographers.

The delivery platform has not abandoned plans to use AI-generated imagery altogether, but has suspended the rollout until the tool can deliver more accurate results.

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