Starbucks app to get voice ordering: One more way to avoid human interaction
Expending the energy to swipe through the Starbucks' app menu to order coffee first thing in the morning is hard, right? It would be much easier to just groggily command Siri to queue up the order — with extra sugar.
At Starbucks Investor Day 2016, the coffee giant teased a new feature that will soon make its immensely popular mobile app even more intuitive: an AI-based voice command ordering system called My Starbucks Barista.
An expansion of Starbucks' new high-end Italian bakeries, Princi, was also announced at the event.
There aren't many details on the feature available as of now, but you can expect the system will work just like the app does in its current form — you'll just say your order to your phone rather than selecting your choice through the touchscreen menu.
What are the chances your name will still be spelled wrong on the cup?
Per the press release made available before the event, "Customers will be able to place their orders via voice command or messaging interface, delivering unparalleled speed and convenience, enhancing customer loyalty and engagement and further extending the accessibility of the Starbucks app."
The My Starbucks Barista feature will reportedly begin an iOS limited beta in early 2017, with plans to expand to a wider release on iOS and Android shortly thereafter.
It's great that getting coffee will take that much less effort in the future, but there's just one question: If you say your name to your phone the next time you order a venti latte, what are the chances it will still be spelled wrong on the cup?
Topics Artificial Intelligence
Brett Williams is a Tech Reporter at Mashable. He writes about tech news, trends and other tangentially related topics with a particular interest in wearables and exercise tech. Prior to Mashable, he wrote for Inked Magazine and Thrillist. Brett's work has also appeared on Fusion and AskMen, to name a few. You can follow Brett on Twitter @bdwilliams910.
