Starbucks Is Ready For Voice Ordering Via App And Amazon Alexa

Tech

LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 18: A collection of venti sized Starbucks take away cups on February 18, 2016 in London, England. Yesterday Action on Sugar announced the results of tests on 131 hot drinks which showed that some contained over 20 teaspoons of sugar. The NHS recommends a maximum daily intake of seven teaspoons or 30 grams of sugar. (Photo by Ben Pruchnie/Getty Images)<br /> (Photo : Ben Pruchnie/Getty Images)

Forget about typing in and swiping through the screen of your phone through the Starbucks mobile app. That is for people who still have some time in their hands. The way of the future is voice commands.

Starbucks is now releasing a voice ordering feature through its mobile app and through Amazon Alexa’s platform. The new feature on the coffee giant’s mobile app is called My Starbucks barista which lets customers order their favorite menu drinks then pick up their order in the store. The ordering is where things get a little exciting (as ordering coffee can get) because customers can speak to a virtual barista. The speaking shy can rest because they can also decide to just type their order to the Starbucks app. It works by chatting bots which will then take note of your order.

My Starbucks barista will then ask to confirm where the order will be picked up and will assist customers through the payment process. All that is left for customers to do is just drop by a Starbucks store and pick up their order. Now that is on the go.

The AI barista is still in beta mode is limited to a small set of 1,000 iOS users in the United States. Those curious who are not part of the beta will have to wait for the updated barista later in the year.

Amazon’s Alexa users can also use the Starbucks Reorder Skill which lets customers with an Alexa device to order any Starbucks item they ordered before by simply saying “Alexa, order my Starbucks.”

“The Starbucks experience is built on the personal connection between our barista and customer, so everything we do in our digital ecosystem must reflect that sensibility,” Gerri Martin-Flickinger, Starbucks CTO, said. “Our team is focused on making sure that Starbucks voice ordering within our app is truly personal and equally important was finding the right partner in Amazon to test and learn from this new capability.”

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