Starbucks Plans to Recognize You at the Drive-Thru Window and Show You an Exclusive Personalized Menu

Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol mentioned a key detail during Thursday's earnings call: the company will explore an experience that "identifies engaged customers the moment they arrive, presents personalized digital menus, and makes payment much easier." The news was first spotted by More Perfect Union on Bluesky.

Photo by: Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

This sounds a lot like the technology Taco Bell is currently testing. Taco Bell's digital menu boards can adjust their layout, content and visuals "per vehicle". McDonald's also recently demonstrated an AI-powered drive-thru feature being piloted in a small number of locations, which allows customers to simply say "give me my usual order".

Starbucks has not specified an exact launch timeline, nor has it revealed how it will identify customers — via the membership app, license plates, or other methods. This detail is critical, as there is only a very thin line between "personalization" and the feeling of being constantly monitored.

The drive-thru business used to be entirely standardized. The menu was identical for everyone, you shouted to place your order, and passed over your card to pay. Now several chain restaurants are embedding recommendation algorithms into this scenario, following the exact same logic as e-commerce homepages, the only difference is that the setting is you sitting in your car waiting for your coffee.

Starbucks has only said it is "exploring" the feature so far. But the direction is clear: the drive-thru window is turning into a screen, and the party behind that screen wants to know what you are going to order before you even make up your mind.

Original article link: https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/1023440/starbucks-ai-personalized-menu-drive-thru