Vibe coffee is coming: Starbucks is building an AI for ‘ordering a friend’
Vibe coding is revolutionizing software development, making it possible for anyone to define what they want a program to do, and leave it to AI to write the code.
Now Starbucks is bringing the concept to coffee.
At its annual investor day Thursday in New York City, the company said it is building an AI-powered “ordering companion” for its mobile app that will allow customers to describe how they’re feeling, their goals for the day, or how they want their drink to taste.
An example they gave us: “a banana bread latte.”
That’s not on the menu. But the AI will translate the craving into an actual recipe made with existing Starbucks ingredients (ie, blonde roast with oat milk, brown sugar syrup, hazelnut, caramel drizzle, and cinnamon on top) and let you fill the order through the app.
Starbucks didn’t use this term, so we’ll include it: vibe coffee.
Besides the potential novelty for customers, the idea faces a real problem: the “secret menu” that lives on TikTok and Instagram, where mass customizations like the “Cinderella Latte” go viral, and customers seem to expect baristas to know what they’re talking about. Usually they don’t, because these drinks are not in the system.
For the record, the banana bread latte is already on TikTok. AI just saves you from having to capture the recipe.
Starbucks has been laying the groundwork behind the scenes. The company reduced menu SKUs by 25% last year and adopted what it calls a “simple beverage framework” that creates new drinks from key recipes rather than inventing from scratch.
Baristas already have access to Green Dot Assist, an AI tool on in-store iPads that helps them check beverage properties, troubleshoot equipment, and answer other questions in real time.
It’s part of a broader technology initiative under CEO Brian Niccol, who joined Starbucks in September 2024 and has made fixing the chaos of digital ordering a centerpiece of his turnaround plan. As we reported on Wednesday, the effort appears to be working: Starbucks posted its first US transaction growth in two years as part of its first-quarter earnings.
In an interview with CNBC that aired Thursday morning, Niccol previewed a “hands-free” version of Starbucks’ mobile app where customers can speak their order, while AI searches for the nearest store and completes the transaction.
He also described a drive-thru driver that uses natural language processing to automatically translate a conversation between a barista and a customer into orders in a point-of-sale system. The goal is to eliminate manual data entry, allowing baristas to keep their eyes on the surface to focus on their work and human connections rather than tapping on a screen.
As for the AI for “friend ordering” (better known as vibe coffee!) the company didn’t give a launch date at its event this morning, only saying that it’s “actively developing” the tool.
In theory, at least, AI could deal with difficulties before an order hits the counter, reducing the back-and-forth with baristas. Whether it actually smooths out the morning rush or unleashes a new wave of AI-generated beverage craze remains to be seen.
Either way, your coffee options will soon include an extra shot of AI.
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