Starbucks wants AI to show drive-thru customers a personalized digital menu

Personalized menus under consideration

Starbucks could eventually tailor a digital menu to a customer arriving at a drive-thru. On Thursday’s earnings call, CEO Brian Niccol said the company would explore recognizing participating customers and offering personalized menus and easier payment.

Niccol said the effort remains in its early stages. Starbucks has not provided a timeline for testing personalized menu boards, and he said the company would test, learn and scale effective approaches.

Other chains test similar tools

Taco Bell is experimenting with technology that could adjust a digital menu board’s layout, content and visuals for each car. McDonald’s has also demonstrated an AI-powered feature being piloted at a handful of drive-thrus. McDonald’s feature uses its ArchIQ chatbot to identify returning customers and let them order their usual items.

More AI plans at Starbucks

Starting in 2027, Starbucks plans to test background AI models at drive-thrus to help baristas enter orders more accurately and efficiently, Niccol said. The company also plans to add AI to search and discovery features in its app, and may offer conversational and agentic ordering in the future.

Starbucks already lets customers place orders through ChatGPT. It has also introduced Green Dot Assist, an AI-powered tool employees can use to ask about recipes and service standards.