Starbucks Scraps AI Inventory Tool After Counting Errors

Starbucks stopped using an artificial intelligence app for counting inventory after finding that the program miscounted and mislabeled items, Reuters reported Thursday (May 21).

The coffeehouse chain deployed the Automated Counting app across its North American stores in September as part of a broader adoption of AI tools and other technology, according to the report.

The app was installed on tablets and used LIDAR and camera data to scan products when employees held the tablet up to shelves, the report said. Starbucks aimed to use the app to help solve product shortages but found that it confused product names or missed items altogether when performing inventory counts.

Reuters reported in February that employees and managers had said the app frequently made errors in its counts. Starbucks said at the time that the app had improved product availability in its stores.

The coffeehouse chain told Reuters in the Thursday report that it decided to end its use of the app to “standardize how inventory is counted across coffeehouses as we continue to focus on consistency and execution at scale.”

The supplier of the app, NomadGo, said it is “continuously learning from customer and user feedback” to improve its products, per the report.

When announcing Starbucks’ deployment of the app in September, NomadGo said in a press release that its Inventory AI technology performs inventory counts up to eight times faster than manual efforts and with 99% accuracy.

NomadGo said in a January post on LinkedIn that across the quick-service restaurants (QSRs) that used Inventory AI, the technology counted more than 186 million items in more than 11,000 locations in 2025.

Starbucks has deleted from its news blog a Sept. 3 post about automated counting.

Starbucks Chairman and CEO Brian Niccol said during a January earnings call that digital platforms will play an important role in the next stage of the company’s turnaround strategy.

Niccol said there are opportunities to gain efficiencies with technology solutions, both in the coffeehouses and in its support centers around the world.

“A key piece of our path forward is technology,” Niccol said.

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