AI is a disruptive technology. Some of us can’t stand it, and avoid it at all costs. Others are AI-curious, and tinker with certain apps or features; Still others embrace it with enthusiasm and use the tech for as many purposes as possible. Still, even though I’m aware of this AI spectrum, I’m struggling to understand who would want to connect their Starbucks account to ChatGPT – so, naturally, I connected mine.
Starbucks launched the collaboration on April 15 as a “natural, personal and fun” way to discover new drinks to order. As someone who only orders a plain coffee with cream or maybe an iced espresso, maybe this will finally be my chance to let my taste buds out, and have artificial intelligence recommend a new favorite? I’m too shy to ask a barista for a recommendation, and I don’t trust my friends to have good taste. ChatGPT is really my only hope of finding a new coffee that I can enjoy!
Integrating ChatGPT and the Starbucks app means giving up a lot of your privacy
To get started, you need the latest version of the Starbucks app as well as the ChatGPT app. You first open ChatGPT, go to “Apps”, search for “Starbucks”, then press “Connect”. ChatGPT then presents you with some information about what data you agree to share (Boring), including “a summary of your recent context and purpose within ChatGPT”. It’s just a bit of data to ask for drink recommendations and I’m not sure why it’s necessary. It seems to be the standard data agreement with other ChatGPT apps, but, again, why is so much data needed here? I understand that the app needs access to ChatGPT to function, as well as the data generated by your requests for drinks, but in my view, Starbucks doesn’t really need a summary of any past ChatGPT usage to recommend me a coffee.
Until then, I also have the option to give ChatGPT reference chats and memories when sharing data with Starbucks. I’m looking for my next go-to Starbucks order; Why won’t do I share all my intimate chatgpt interactions with starbucks? At least this one is optional: If you leave the toggle disabled (the default setting), Starbucks won’t have access to memories and chats—only the summary above. ChatGPT also warns that by connecting the Starbucks app here, attackers can target my Starbucks data or use the Starbucks app to access my ChatGPT data. Exciting! This definitely looks worth it!
Again, it doesn’t seem like the Starbucks app integration is particularly special. When you do the same for other apps you are presented with the same splash screen, Like Photoshop. But I think it’s important to think through the privacy implications of any app integration with ChatGPT, especially since not all apps are created equal. Do you really want to give Starbucks access to your ChatGPT data and vice versa? Would you like ChatGPT to find out where your nearest Starbucks location is? For all, and I can’t stress enough the generative AI recommendation for a Starbucks drink? And how are those recommendations? Let’s find out.
Putting ChatGPT Barista to the test
Once you agree to the terms, you’re all set. Now you can start a ChatGPT conversation as usual, type @starbucks to pull up the Starbucks app and remove. My first query was to pick me up in the afternoon. This generated a widget displaying six different menu items, including “Iced Caramel Ribbon Crunch Frappuccino,” “Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew,” and “Nonderry Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew.” If I want, I can press the “Customize” option to adjust the order of the ingredients and the “Add to Cart” button to add the drink to my cart. Below the widget was a breakdown of each drink’s recommendation, including things like taste and caffeine count.
After looking at the number of caffeine listed, I decided to ask ChatGPT for the drink option with the most potential caffeine. Again, I was given six recommendations, but the top pick had to go to me: Venti Blonde Roast, which the app said had about 315mg of caffeine—Despite the Starbucks website The drink claims to range from 390 to 490 mg. There is a huge difference, The safe daily caffeine limit is usually listed at 400mg.
Next, I decided to see if Starbucks would recommend something with as little sugar as possible. He’s back with another list, this time taking the “Caramel Ribbon Crunch Frappuccino” crown, packing 60 grams of sugar. (Starbucks website Confirms this for grand size; venti contains 78 grams.)
What do you think so far?
That’s a lot of sugar, sure, but was it really as much sugar as Starbucks could give me? ChatGPT sensed my frustration and said, “If you want, I can make you a custom order that maximizes both caffeine. And Sugar at the same time.” Now we’re talking! ChatGPT returns with a step-by-step guide to turning a Caramel Ribbon Crunch Frappuccino into a “monster:”
-
Venti Caramel Ribbon Crunch Frappuccino Blended Drink
-
Add Two to three shots of espresso (affogato-style if you want to top it off)
-
Add Pump extra caramel syrup
-
Add Mocha sauce (more sugar + to taste)
-
Add Additional caramel drizzle
-
keep Whipped cream + crunch topping
Bott said the changes would increase the sugar to 70 to 90 grams, depending on how “aggressive” I got, while the caffeine would shoot from 85mg to the 200 to 300mg range.
I asked ChatGPT to make me the worst drink ever
When ChatGPT asked if I wanted to optimize my custom drink so it would still be there taste Well, instead of “liquid candy sludge”, I said “Really, can you make it any worse?” And he gave me instructions on how to “break” the drink, offering a list of tweaks including tons of syrup, sauce, more chocolate chips and light ice to make it “less refreshing, more dense and overwhelming.” He gave me the choice to make it worse, And I agreed. ChatGPT took another chance to “ruin it on purpose”. His new creation, he says, was designed to taste like “burnt coffee to avoid a caramel milkshake,” with “chocolate chips suspended in syrupy cement.” perfection.
You can’t actually order your drinks with ChatGPT
I asked the bot how I could order it, and to my surprise, it only recommended how to order in person or on the Starbucks app – not through ChatGPT. At this point, I realized that ChatGPT had stopped giving me ordering options and instead only opted for text-based recommendations. When I asked why, he told me I couldn’t ask him to order in the app. When I told him he had given me the option before (and noted that the ad for the feature indicated I could order in-app), ChatGPT said “that ad is a bit misleading.” ok Even after I went back to previous chats that still had the ordering widget, either the widget would “disappear” or I would be taken to the store locator but not allowed to select a location. I chalk this up to ChatGPT, which puts me down to a weaker model with less antigenic capabilities.
But it doesn’t matter, because there’s no way I can order this awesomeness on the app or in person. was the whole point avoid Human interaction, after all. Now I have no new coffee orders, a chatbot gaslighting me, and severe caffeine withdrawal. Maybe ChatGPT has some advice on how to deal with it.
