Starbucks plans to use AI to display personalized digital menus at drive-thrus
Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol said on an earnings call that the company will explore identifying participating customers at drive-thrus, displaying personalized digital menus, and simplifying payment. Starting in 2027, Starbucks will also test back-end AI models at drive-thrus to help baristas enter orders more accurately and efficiently, and plans to integrate AI into the search and discovery features of the Starbucks app, with possible future support for conversational and agent-based ordering. Starbucks already allows ordering through ChatGPT and has launched Green Dot Assist, an AI tool for employees to look up recipes and service standards.
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Starbucks could eventually show you a personalized digital menu when you pull up to the drive-thru. During an earnings call on Thursday , Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol said the company is going to explore “experiences that recognize participating customers as they arrive, present personalized digital menus, and make payment more effortless,” as spotted earlier by More Perfect Union .
It sounds similar to the technology that Taco Bell is experimenting with , which could change the layout, content, and visuals on a digital menu board “on a car-by-car basis.” McDonald’s also r ecently showed off an AI-powered feature it’s piloting at a handful of drive-thrus, allowing its “ArchIQ” chatbot to identify repeat customers and let them order their “usual.”
Starting in 2027, Starbucks will also begin testing background AI models at the drive-thru to help baristas “input orders more accurately and efficiently,” according to Niccol. The company also plans to integrate AI into the Starbucks app’s search and discovery features, and may allow “conversational and agentic” ordering in the future.
Starbucks has already started allowing customers to place orders through ChatGPT , and also rolled out an AI-powered Green Dot Assist that employees can use to ask questions about things like recipes and service standards.
It’s still not clear how soon we can expect to see personalized digital menu boards at Starbucks, but Niccol says it’s still “early,” adding that “we’ll test, learn, and scale what works.”