Starbucks (SBUX) Unveils New AI Assistant for Baristas That's Powered by Microsoft
Coffee making is going high tech.
Confident Investing Starts Here:
Easily unpack a company's performance with TipRanks' new KPI Data for smart investment decisions
Receive undervalued, market resilient stocks right to your inbox with TipRanks' Smart Value Newsletter
Starbucks (SBUX) is rolling out a new generative artificial intelligence (AI) assistant for its coffee baristas that's powered by Microsoft (MSFT) Azure's OpenAI platform. The AI assistant will initially be deployed in a trial at 35 Starbucks locations in the U.S. as part of a strategy to simplify baristas' jobs and speed-up service at the company's coffee shops.
The global coffee chain showed off the new technology to more than 14,000 North American store managers at an event held in Las Vegas, Nevada on June 10. A broader rollout of what Starbucks is calling the 'Green Dot Assist' platform across the U.S. and Canada is slated to begin this autumn. News of the AI assistant comes as Starbucks tries to revive its sluggish sales under new CEO Brian Niccol.
Improved Service
Niccol has set a goal of improving Starbucks' service times to four minutes per order. The hope is that quick, accurate answers to barista questions will help speed-up service and improve quality at Starbucks locations. With the AI assistant, Starbucks' baristas will be able to use a tablet to get answers to questions such as how to make an iced espresso and troubleshoot equipment errors.
As the AI assistant evolves, Starbucks has even bigger plans for its use, including automatically creating a ticket with information technology (IT) for equipment issues. Starbucks is expanding its relationship with Microsoft about a year after the tech giant's CEO Satya Nadella stepped down from Starbucks' board of directors. SBUX stock has risen 2% this year.
Is SBUX Stock a Buy?
The stock of Starbucks has a consensus Moderate Buy rating among 23 Wall Street analysts. That rating is based on 12 Buy and 11 Hold recommendations issued in the last three months. The average SBUX price target of $93.25 implies 1.99% upside from current levels.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Globe and Mail
17 minutes ago
- Globe and Mail
Ottawa extends refugee jobs pilot program on day it was due to expire
Ottawa has extended a pilot program that matches skilled refugees with job vacancies in Canada on the day it was due to lapse, after an outcry from employers, including universities, about its imminent expiry. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has extended its Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot, which was founded in 2018 as a route to permanent residence, until the end of the year, saying it is helping employers in critical sectors meet labour market shortages. Since 2019, 970 people have come to Canada through the pilot program, which offers a route to permanent residence for refugees with skills Canadian employers want. The decision to extend the program until Dec. 31 was welcomed by employers. Earlier this week, after The Globe and Mail disclosed how the pilot program was about to expire, universities wrote to Immigration Minister Lena Diab urging her to extend the program. The former immigration minister Marc Miller had said the pilot would be made permanent last year, but only days before it was due to expire employers were distraught about hearing no word from the government about its future. Carleton University, based in Ottawa, has hired a refugee from the civil war in Sudan as a visiting professor, to help with research into artificial intelligence, through the pilot pathway. Abeer, who fled to Somalia, holds a PhD in wireless communications and network engineering. She has researched the impact of AI and machine-learning-based algorithms on wireless communication systems. The Globe and Mail is not publishing her full name owing to fears for the safety of family members in her home country. She is still waiting for biometric checks and the university said it was keen for her to arrive soon to help with a research project being run by a Carleton professor. Carney's aim to cut immigration marred by undercounting of temporary migrants, economists warn Norah Vollmer, manager of faculty affairs at Carleton, said the university is 'very pleased to hear that the EMPP is extended.' She hoped the pilot program would be put 'on a permanent footing' and that processing times for applications to come here from refugees who have been offered jobs would be sped up. IRCC said in a statement announcing the pilot's continuation that the program had helped fill job vacancies, including in construction. More than 30 per cent of refugees accepted to come here through the pilot are working in health care. From 2019 to the end of March 2025, 970 people have been admitted to Canada, under the program, it said. It said it would cap applications for refugees offered jobs at 950 this year. Groups mount legal challenge against Ottawa over refugee treaty with U.S. 'The extension will allow more workers in essential sectors such as health care to benefit from the pilot's pathway to permanent residence and continue to contribute to our economy,' it said. Dana Wagner, co-founder of TalentLift, a non-profit international recruitment company that matches displaced people with employers, said the renewal was 'fantastic' but said the cap at 950 was 'very low' with 'no word about a permanent program.' 'It will be important to quickly move from a pilot to a permanent program as the Liberals have pledged,' she said. 'We want to see predictability, fast processing times that work for employers, and room to grow – this is a demand-driven program, and levels should reflect Canada's skills demand and the potential of talented individuals in refugee situations to meet it.'
CTV News
18 minutes ago
- CTV News
NS sees little interest for uranium exploration
Atlantic Watch Nova Scotia has received no bids for uranium exploration in the province yet.
CTV News
32 minutes ago
- CTV News
‘Let's get this thing done': WSIB, union hopeful a deal is in sight in 3-week work stoppage
The OCEU/CUPE president visited WSIB workers in London as the strike enters its fourth week. Striking WSIB workers in London had some heavy hitters on the picket line Thursday, as their union continues mediated bargaining with the provincial agency. 'And let's get this thing done, get people back to work so they can do what they do best, taking care of the injured in Ontario,' said Harry Goslin, president of OCEU/CUPE 1750, while speaking through a bullhorn to those on the picket line. He joined them for a rally outside the downtown London office. Goslin told CTV News the union is awaiting a response on its latest offer made Wednesday night. He said the main sticking points continue to be wages and workload. 'Workload is a major component to this. Compensation is another big component. We just don't want to fall behind inflation. We want to mirror what's happening in the public sector. We're not asking for the world here,' said Goslin. Aaron Lazarus, vice president of Communications for WSIB, said he's glad both sides are talking. He said WSIB is offering employees a fair deal. 'We're offering an above-inflation wage increase for people, so that in 2027, about 75 per cent of unionized employees at the WSIB would be making a $100,000 or more. And we're also addressing concerns around workload,' Lazarus explained. Also on hand, London North Centre New Democrat MPP Terence Kernaghan, who said the provincial agency isn't treating workers with respect. 'Well, I wanted to come and support the workers, who, in working for the WSIB, you would think that you would have an employer that respects workers, that respects their needs. Well for the first time we have an employer that doesn't want to pay people properly,' said Kernaghan. Ontario Compensation Employees Union/CUPE 1750 represents 3,600 WSIB workers across Ontario, including about 240 in London. They have been on strike since May 21. It is the first work stoppage of its kind in WSIB's 110-year history.
