Starbucks just launched a beta “app” inside ChatGPT designed to spark drink ideas when customers don’t feel like starting with a menu. To use it, people enable Starbucks via ChatGPT’s app directory, then prompt the bot with “@Starbucks.” It can suggest and customize drinks and even let users pick a store location—then it hands you off to complete the purchase in Starbucks’ own app or on its website (conveniently protecting the loyalty-program mothership).
The strategy is pretty clear: intercept the “what am I in the mood for?” moment and turn it into a drink order. As Starbucks SVP of digital and loyalty Paul Riedel put it: “Over the past year, one thing has become clear: customers aren’t always starting with a menu… They’re starting with a feeling…” This ChatGPT integration extends what Starbucks already does in-app with a trending beverages section and a “secret menu” tucked under offers—features aimed squarely at helping Gen Z (and honestly, most of us) chase more unique, customizable orders.
This move also fits into Starbucks’ broader “Back to Starbucks” turnaround plan—bringing seating back, trimming the menu, and reintroducing loyalty tiers—to lure U.S. customers back into cafes. While the ChatGPT beta doesn’t come with performance numbers yet, the company did report a meaningful leading indicator: after two years of traffic declines, customer transactions rose in its fiscal first quarter ending Dec. 28. It’s also not Starbucks’ first AI swing; last year it introduced “Green Dot Assist,” an AI helper for baristas built with Microsoft Azure’s OpenAI platform—joining other consumer brands like Walmart, Etsy, and Booking.com testing shopping flows through ChatGPT.
Read more at CNBC.