Peet's Coffee Partners with SoundHound AI to Power In-Store Employee Support Across Its Nationwide U.S. Retail Footprint
SANTA CLARA, Calif., March 19, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SoundHound AI, Inc. (NASDAQ:SOUN), a global leader in voice and conversational AI, and Peet's Coffee, one of the country's leading specialty coffee brands, today announced they are partnering to deploy SoundHound's Employee Assist, a voice AI-powered agent that empowers in-store teams with hands-free, real-time access to critical information, enhancing both employee support and the customer experience.
Now live across Peet's core U.S. retail footprint – and expanding to all Peet's coffee bars across the United States – employees are being supercharged with voice support internally branded as "BaristAI," that enables them to unlock instant, accurate answers to their on-the-job questions without having to consult a manual or interrupt another busy colleague.
Accessed via a headset microphone or digital tablet, this intelligent, always-on agent uses natural speech to provide support for a range of inquiries, including:
- Beverage recipes questions: Quickly getting up to speed with multiple seasonal programs and new drinks each year. Step by step coaching on how to prepare complex drinks or customize them. Looking up recipe cards as images which are especially suited for visual learners.
- Nutrition Information: Is the Peet's Cold Brew safe for someone with a dairy allergy? How many calories are in a Large Iced Vanilla Latte?
- Operational help: How do I close the store at the end of the day? How do I place a request for more supplies?
- Troubleshooting: Coffee Urn has a blinking red light. The espresso machine is not heating up water. The coffee grinder is stuck.
"At Peet's, we're dedicated to delivering a top-tier customer experience, and that starts with empowering our employees with the knowledge and confidence they need to do a great job," said Gordon Bitter, Senior Vice President, Retail, at Peet's Coffee. "With SoundHound's Employee Assist agent, we're giving our first-class teams access to all the information they need to deliver the best food and customer support – it's like having a digital expert in every barista's ears."
Built to withstand a fast-paced retail environment, this technology helps reduce training time for new hires and eliminates the friction of constantly referencing manuals. Furthermore, the Employee Assist agent becomes a trusty support companion for moments when the employees run into any issues and would otherwise have to interrupt a senior colleague for help. It also becomes an on-the-job-training-aid where most of the learning happens.
"Peet's Coffee is an iconic brand, known for its commitment to craft and quality. We're proud to partner with them to showcase how voice AI can not only optimize operational efficiency but also create a more supported and seamless environment for employees," said James Hom, Chief Product Officer and Co-Founder of SoundHound AI. "When you empower a team with instant, hands-free knowledge, it directly translates into a better experience for every customer who walks through the door."
SoundHound powers thousands of locations with its industry-leading voice and conversational AI technology. For more information about SoundHound AI's restaurant solutions, visit: https://www.soundhound.com/voice-ai-solutions/restaurants/.
About SoundHound AI
SoundHound AI (NASDAQ:SOUN), a global leader in voice and conversational AI, delivers solutions that allow businesses to offer superior experiences to their customers. Built on proprietary technology, SoundHound's voice AI delivers best-in-class speed and accuracy in numerous languages to product creators and service providers across retail, financial services, healthcare, automotive, smart devices, and restaurants. The company's groundbreaking AI-driven products include Smart Answering, Smart Ordering, Dynamic Drive-Thru, and the Amelia Platform, which powers AI Agents for enterprise. In addition, SoundHound's Agentic AI for Automotive and Autonomics, a category-leading operations platform that automates IT processes, have enabled SoundHound to power millions of products and services, and process billions of interactions each year for world-class businesses.
About Peet's Coffee
Peet's is Coffee for Coffee People. Founded in Berkeley, California in 1966 by Alfred Peet, the "Big Bang of coffee," Peet's Coffee® pioneered the artisan movement in the U.S. With rich, complex, superior quality roasts unlike anything Americans ever tasted before, Peet's influenced generations of coffee entrepreneurs and connoisseurs. Today, Alfred Peet's legacy lives on in every Peet's cup whether ordered online, selected at a grocery store or served in any one of the more than 465 Peet's Coffee locations in the U.S., China and the Middle East. Peet's Coffee is verified as responsibly sourced, per Enveritas standards. For more information, visit www.peets.com. Stay connected to Peet's: @peetscoffee on X, Instagram and Facebook.
Media Contacts:
Gianna Arantes
201-815-9852
[email protected]
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/bea7e597-23f2-4950-ab4f-f26baf540b31
