Starbucks Experiments With AI to Boost Store Experience (Full Transcript)

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: Could you be convinced to visit Starbucks if you were greeted by a robot? In some drive-thru stores, AI robots can take orders, baristas can ask them for recipes, and they can even count stock. They're also trialling an AI chatbot to help match drinks with customer moods. Starbucks has been under pressure for a while, with people boycotting it because of their stance on the Israel and Gaza war, and because of barista disputes over pay and benefits. So the new tech is being introduced in America as they try to win back customers. It's supposed to relieve staff of the boring bits of the job and free them up to focus on hospitality or making coffees. And to improve the vibes, staff were told to bring back writing customer names on cups by hand. There were stricter uniforms for staff and rules that stop people using the bathroom without buying. It seems to be working, sales have been rising, but profits are sluggish. Chief Exec Brian Nichols said he's confident that consistent sales growth will solve this problem.