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(Eater): Starbucks is making it ever easier to order your $7 morning latte. Today the chain launches voice ordering on two platforms: its iOS mobile app and Amazon’s digital assistant Alexa.
When utilizing the mobile order and pay feature on the My Starbucks app, users can now speak their full order instead of selecting it on-screen. Thanks to artificial intelligence, the app should in theory have no problem taking your order for an extra-complicated venti two-pump half-caf extra-hot skinny vanilla almond milk latte. The feature is currently in beta, and is currently only available to 1,000 customers nationwide; it will be rolled out in phases to the rest of the U.S. by summer, and an Android app is also to come.
The Alexa voice ordering function is more limited: Users can say “Alexa, order my Starbucks” to place their “usual” coffee order, but can’t deviate from that or tack on additional items. (The same goes when voice-ordering delivery via Amazon Restaurants or getting Alexa to place a Pizza Hut order.)
Starbucks’ mobile app currently accounts for more than 27 percent of its sales — a figure the chain is clearly hoping to boost even further by integrating this new AI-powered technology. As more customers begin to use its mobile order and pay system, the coffee giant is also adding more staff during rush hours to keep the mobile order pickup line moving quickly.
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