The new feature and the users' reaction
The New York Times Cooking has added, in beta, for now only on iOS, a "customize this recipe" field above the ingredient list, which allows subscribers to modify recipes using artificial intelligence. WIRED reports this in a test article published on November 9, 2026. According to the source, the feature is intended to substitute ingredients or adapt preparations to the reader's needs, and during testing it worked surprisingly effectively.
The October 23 announcement, however, sparked community protests: in the following four days, 172 comments arrived that were almost exclusively critical, with threats to cancel subscriptions and requests to disable the feature, until the comments were closed. The source does not report figures on subscribers to the service, but cites Jordan Cohen, the Times's executive communications director, according to whom the site and app received 514 million visits in 2025 and the YouTube channel has more than 1.4 million subscribers.
How it works and what limitations emerged in testing
For recommendations, the language system consults the recipe, the Times's substitution guide, user comments, and what the company calls "our experience," in that order. Changes are highlighted in red-orange, and the customized version is displayed alongside the original, with a label indicating that it has not been tested or approved by the authors. If a request distorts the recipe, the AI redirects to another, more suitable preparation. Camilla Velasquez, general manager of NYT Cooking, told the source that AI must be an aid and not the main attraction, that it is not designed for conversation, and that the editorial staff defined the initial rules and evaluated the final result.
In the tests cited by the source, the feature handled ingredient substitutions, dietary adaptations, and even the transformation of a waffle recipe into a leavened version. The biggest problem emerged with chicken and gnocchi: when asked to replace thighs with boneless meat, the system reduced the cooking time and added butter, but also suggested putting the shredded breast back in the pot for about thirty minutes, with a result judged less succulent. The source believes that step should be corrected or not proposed.
Employment and open questions
On the labor front, Velasquez said that NYT Cooking is hiring more than ever and does not intend to publish fewer recipes, without providing verifiable data. The source does not clarify how the feature will be extended beyond the iOS beta or how reports on adaptations deemed inappropriate will be handled. It therefore remains to be verified what the real impact on editorial staffing and subscriber satisfaction will be after the protests.
