New AI powered Coffee Alarm Clock service launched by Starbucks and Alipay Ah Bao for Chinese consumers
Starbucks and Ah Bao, Alipay’s AI agent, have launched a new AI powered service - the Coffee Alarm Clock - for Chinese consumers. Users can set this up by first opening the Alipay app, swiping right and telling Ah Bao “Buy me a Starbucks iced Americano at 10 a.m. every day”. They then create a personalised name for the alarm clock and enable Alipay notifications in the app settings. Then wait for Ah Bao to execute the task every day.
Ah Bao will ask follow-up questions to clarify the user’s needs if the request is incomplete or missing key information. The feature can also manage a wide range of recurring daily tasks, such as scheduling rides in advance. It will be made available to more merchants and brands. Additionally, Ah Bao has introduced a new module at the top of its main page, allowing users to check and manage the status of their services.
Since its launch in June, Ah Bao has offered 10,000+ AI powered everyday services, spanning more than a dozen categories including hospitality, dining, travel and pet care. Users can tell Ah it what they need through natural conversations and complete various tasks, from paying utility bills and booking pet services to finding EV charging stations and hailing a self-driving car.
Brands including McDonald's, KFC, Mixue Bingcheng, Luckin Coffee and Haidilao have also integrated their services into Ah Bao, allowing consumers to place orders and make payments by chatting with the AI agent.
Powered by Alipays AHA protocol, which enables cross-agent and cross-device interoperability, Ah Bao is connecting AI agents across a growing ecosystem of AI glasses, smartphones and cars. For instance, Xiaomi smartphone users can tell their AI agent Xiao AI what they need and Xiao AI will work with Ah Bao to handle a range of everyday services on their behalf.
2026 RTIH Innovation Awards
AI will be a key focus area at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards.
The awards are now open for entries and celebrate global retail technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.
Our winners will be revealed at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards Ceremony, taking place at The HAC in Central London on Wednesday, 4th November.
Check out our 2025 winners here.
Our 2025 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The HAC on 16th October and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Tiff Stevenson.
In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “This is the awards’ fifth year as a physical event. We started off with just 30 people at the South Place Hotel not far from here, then moved to London Bridge Hotel, then The Barbican, and last year RIBA’s HQ in the West End.”
“But I’m conscious of the fact that, to quote the legend that is Taylor Swift, You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby. So, this year we’ve moved to our biggest venue yet, and also pulled in our largest number of entries to date and broken attendance records.”
He added: “This year’s submissions have without doubt been our best yet. To quote one of the judges: The examples of innovative developments across both traditional and digital retail spaces were truly remarkable.”
Congratulations to our winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Tiff Stevenson, and all those who attended our 2025 gathering.
