Can’t Snag a Grocery Delivery Slot? Bots Might Be to Blame

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But... why...?

. One data scientist Motherboard spoke to released a bot last week that not only can find slots at Whole Foods and Amazon Fresh, but will also put your order through automatically.

“You just have to run the bot once, and as soon as there is a delivery slot available, it secures it for you, and completes the entire process through checkout,” the developer, Pooja Ahuja, was quoted as saying. Despite sounding devious, she said she created the program with the best of intentions: “I designed the bot for those who find it extremely inconvenient in these times to step out, or find it not safe for themselves to be outside.

Other “bots” are less advanced: Another one simply refreshes the checkout page for you in the background until it recognizes that a slot has opened—at which point it’s the user’s job to jump in and grab it. And users don’t have to be hardcore hackers to use this kind of code. Earlier this month, the very mainstreamSo if you’re struggling with finding online grocery delivery slots—and don’t feel morally conflicted about using technology to get an advantage—than maybe bots are the answer for you.

 

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I had to place my order at Sams Club at 2 am to find an open slot.

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