Online food delivery service Swiggy is using artificial intelligence to comply with the minimum age requirement for sale of liquor. The company has started home delivery of liquor in Bengal, Jharkhand and Odisha.

Excise laws mandate a minimum age below which liquor cannot be sold (21 in case of Bengal).

“To place orders, customers need to complete a mandatory one-time instant age verification by uploading a picture of their valid government ID, followed by a selfie which the platform will use for authentication. Swiggy has enabled AI-face recognition to automate the process,” a Swiggy spokesperson said.

“All orders will carry a unique one time password which the customer will share at the time of delivery,” the spokesperson added. Swiggy also allayed concern among retailers about damage in transit.

“Our experience in other markets tell us that home delivery of alcohol is a feasible and safe channel in addition to traditional channels,” said Siddharth Wadia, director and general manager — IMENA region, Brown-Forman, makers of Jack Daniel’s.