Starbucks’ ChatGPT experiment could quietly reshape how people order coffee

Not sure what to order on your next Starbucks run? Now ChatGPT can help.

Starting April 15, users will be able to turn to ChatGPT for help deciding on their next Starbucks order through a new integration with the coffee chain. To activate the feature, users simply tag @starbucks within a chat with the AI agent to trigger the new in-platform beta Starbucks app.

Users will be able to prompt ChatGPT to offer drink order advice based on mood, cravings, or even an image. For instance, a user might prompt ChatGPT with “@starbucks I’m looking for an iced pick me up,” with the LLM then suggesting an Iced Dragon Energy Drink alongside 5 additional options.

“Over the past year, one thing has become clear: customers aren’t always starting with a menu. They’re starting with a feeling,” Paul Riedel, senior vice president, digital & loyalty at Starbucks wrote in a blog post announcement.

While helping users decide on what to order, the ChatGPT app will also fuel discovery by suggesting niche menu items that users might be unaware of. Users can then pick one of the AI suggestion and customize in ChatGPT, with then the option to add to order and buy directly from the Starbucks app.

The decision to tap into ChatGPT follows a other retailers integrating with AI platforms including Etsy and Walmart, as more and more customers turn to LLMs for product discovery.

“People open chat tools to think out loud – to describe the kind of moment they’re in, or imagine something they want to create,” Riedel said. “We want to meet customers right in that moment of inspiration and make it easier than ever to find a drink that fits.”

The new beta rollout is a part of the coffee chain’s “Back to Starbucks” turnaround strategy to boost sales and bring back customers. The strategy has proven relatively successful, with the company posting its first U.S. growth in 2 years.

Additionally, the ChatGPT integration also follows Starbucks’ ongoing investment in AI announced earlier this year.

Still, not everyone online is thrilled about the Starbucks announcement.

“One problem with this, the app-less ChatGPT can already give you advice on which Starbucks drink to order. Why would you to inject Starbucks into that conversation? Second, why would I do this more than once or twice? Does Starbucks’ menu change that often?,” a user said on X.

Another added, “you gotta have dangerously low brain activity to need a computer program to tell you how to customize your latte.”

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