The chain is reverting to manual counts across North America, ending one of CEO Brian Niccol’s more visible technology bets and adding another data point to the file marked “enterprise AI pilots that did not survive contact with the real store.”
Starbucks has retired the AI-powered inventory tool it rolled out across its North American stores last September, according to an internal newsletter reviewed by Reuters and confirmed by the company.
“Starting today, Automated Counting will be retired,” the Monday memo read. “Beverage components and milk will now be counted the same way you count other inventory categories in your coffeehouse.” In other words, by hand.
The tool, built by Seattle-based NomadGo, used tablet-mounted cameras and LiDAR to scan shelves of syrups, milks and other beverage components and produce automatic counts, replacing manual stock-takes for selected categories.
It had been in development for several years and was expanded nationwide after Brian Niccol took over as chief executive in September 2024, as part of his “Back to Starbucks” turnaround.The 💜 of EU techThe latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol' founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It's free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!
