AI at Starbucks
Unlike what the movies would have you believe, AI is not a super-intelligent robot trying to destroy humanity, it isn’t a simple predictive model, and it isn’t a brand-new secret technology that only a select few have access to. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is all around us. In fact, an AI was responsible for showing you this blog post. AI isn’t coming in the future, it is already here. Let’s see how AI is being used in a real marketing context with Starbucks.
Starbucks has created a “Deep Brew” initiative to implement its AI investments best. According to articles by Forbes, Future Stores, and Marketing Tech News, Starbucks is using Deep Brew to best optimize its stores. In both customer satisfaction and resource management, Deep Brew strives to improve the store's operations in three main ways.
1: In-app ordering
Deep Brew is being used to help customers ideally time their coffee for pickup. Traditionally after ordering from the app, a customer would have to wait for the barista to make the coffee in-store after arriving. With this new AI, Starbucks is looking to predict how long customers will take to arrive and have an automated machine create the coffee. This coffee is then placed in a special area where the consumer can easily pick it up, making the consumer’s experience as quick and seamless as possible.
2: Coffee machine optimization
When your company is as big as Starbucks, even a small amount of wasted resources per store can compound dramatically into millions of dollars. Every little bit counts. That is why Deep Brew is attempting to create the perfect coffee-making machine. Using data and precise measurements, these machines are trying to minimize the excess resources wasted while still producing the high-quality drinks that Starbucks is known for. It also tracks machines that break down and how the issue occurred. This helps the AI make recommendations on when to give maintenance to a machine that is predicted to fail soon.
3: Customized drink recommendations
Deep Brew utilizes its data to specifically recommend drinks to a user based on their purchase history, weather, and even the time of day. Starbucks has always strived for the value of delivering an extremely personal experience to its customers, and this is just another way to pursue that goal. It may seem that Deep Brew knows what drink you want more than you do yourself!
Keep an eye out at your local Starbucks for these new innovations. Starbucks is leading the coffee industry in terms of AI and is looking to create an advantage that will propel them to new heights. They aren't satisfied at the top. Starbucks is not only giving the customer the experience that they want, but also the experience they don’t even know that they want. This is the way of the future.
References: