Starbucks is testing out an ability to schedule orders ahead of time

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Starbucks is testing out an order-ahead feature for customers, CEO Brian Niccol said during the Wall Street Journal CEO Council Summit.

This feature — which is already available on other quick-service and fast-casual foodservice apps — is part of Starbucks' overarching strategy to improve order sequencing and ensure that customers get their drinks in a timely fashion, especially for mobile orders.

"If you know you want your coffee at 5:30 a.m., ideally it takes out some of the unexpectedness if you can pre-order that 5:30 a.m. coffee because now we can queue the orders," Niccol said during the Wall Street Journal conference. "Then, the ticket comes out and to the barista, it doesn't matter if they're doing a mobile order or café order, but to the customer, the mobile order expectation is you have to be on time and accurate."

Niccol previously mentioned this feature coming soon in Starbucks' last earnings call in October. Ordering ahead would be an upgrade to the new smart queue sequencing algorithm. In October, Niccol said that more than 80% of Starbucks cafes have gotten their service times down to four minutes or less, thanks to the rollout of this new system.

Recently, the CEO also mentioned that Starbucks is working on predictive AI technology, which would build upon the AI investment Starbucks debuted earlier this year, with its new AI assistant, Green Dot Assist — a generative AI-powered chatbot that baristas can communicate with in real time.

Together, the goal is to use technology and smart staffing to meet the growing needs of mobile orders, to cut down on wait times, and to lessen back-of-house chaos for baristas.

Contact Joanna at [email protected]