US-based coffee firm Starbucks has introduced new voice ordering capabilities on its Starbucks mobile iOS app and Amazon Alexa platform to enhance customer experience.

The new service enables customers to order and pay for items prior to arriving at the Starbucks store. An extension of Starbucks Mobile Order & Pay, customers can now order coffee using the app's My Starbucks feature.

Starbucks' chief technology officer Gerri Martin-Flickinger said: “The Starbucks experience is built on the personal connection between our baristas and customers, so everything we do in our digital ecosystem must reflect that sensibility.

“Our team is focused on making sure that Starbucks' voice ordering within our app is truly personal and equally important was finding the right partner in Amazon to test and learn from this new capability.

"The Starbucks experience is built on the personal connection between our baristas and customers."

"These initial releases are easy to use, providing a direct benefit to customers within their daily routine and we are confident that this is the right next step in creating convenient moments to complement our more immersive formats.”

Powered by artificial intelligence, My Starbucks allows customers to either speak or text to convey personal preferences and modify the order.

Currently available for a select number of customers, the firm intends to continue expanding the service this year, as well as produce an Android version. The firm is also launching another voice ordering feature Starbucks Reorder Skill.

Image: Starbucks launches voice ordering on mobile iOS app and Amazon’s Alexa platform. Photo: courtesy of Starbucks Corporation.