There’s a new drink whisperer in town, and it runs on code.
A new survey from DRINKS, the AI-driven e-commerce platform disrupting the $285 billion U.S. alcohol market, suggests Americans are more than ready to let artificial intelligence pour their next glass. According to the poll of 1,000 U.S. adults over 21, a staggering 71% say they’d be open to using AI to choose their booze if the option were available at liquor stores or online. An even more surprising fact is that nearly a third (31%) already have.
“Our patented PAIR (Predictive AI Retailing) technology uses AI to dissect every wine label to analyse colour palettes, fonts, imagery and dozens more design elements. We use these features to predict the emotional response it will spark (like romantic, adventurous, elegant, or perhaps quirky),” said Barry Collier, co-founder and Head of R&D at DRINKS.
AI as a virtual sommelier
DRINKS, which calls itself the go-to platform for “alcohol e-commerce anywhere,” commissioned the research through Dynata to better understand how AI alcohol recommendations could shape how Americans drink. The findings show that while just 30% of respondents consider human expert advice “very important” when buying alcohol, nearly half (44%) already trust AI to suggest a bottle for solo enjoyment.
The comfort with code doesn’t stop at solo drinking. Forty percent would let AI suggest drink pairings at a restaurant, 26% would let it order a cocktail at the bar, and 39% are happy to hand over party drink planning to the bots.
“By tailoring AI alcohol recommendations around these feelings, we’ve driven a 50+% lift in click‑through rates over traditional ‘You may also like’ recommendations. And when you pair these insights with a virtual sommelier that allows the customer to describe their taste preferences or desires in natural language, you unlock the true power of conversational commerce,” added Collier.