Do androids wake up needing coffee? Regardless, you can definitely order one through them. On 26 May, the leading Chinese coffee chain Luckin Coffee announced that it has teamed up with Volcengine, the cloud service platform from ByteDance, to create its first-ever AI entity, Lucky AI (v1.0), a smart assistant. Interestingly, Luckin and Volcengine deployed both ByteDance’s in-house Doubao (豆包) large language model (LLM), as well as the viral DeepSeek AI model.
The DeepSeek and Doubao-enabled Lucky AI will be available on both the Luckin app and its official WeChat Mini-Program. Its image is based on the coffee chain’s mascot, its “Chief Luck Officer”, Lucky, an anthropomorphic white deer. Currently, the AI entity mostly provides voice-controlled order-taking on the app and the Mini Program.
Not only can it respond to your orders, but it can also make smart suggestions based on your needs. You can even repeat the order by simply saying “as per uzhe”. Similarly, it can go through your order history to learn your preferences and recommend new products based on the information. It can also help those who have a hard time deciding.
Luckin has indicated future interest in updating the AI entity with more features. A month ago, Luckin Coffee welcomed Li Hui, Chairman and CEO of Centurium Capital, Luckin’s biggest investor, back to its board, this time serving as chairman and CEO of the coffee chain. Luckin earned 8.87 billion RMB (1.23 billion USD) in Q1 2025, growing 41.2% year-on-year (YoY). It profited 737 million RMB (102.30 million USD), weathering the storm of loss last year.
However, with harsh competition in China’s coffee market, the brand is not without stress. The latest step towards AI can be seen as a marketing stunt or a genuine pivot to a tech-centric strategy, like many food platforms such as Meituan. What Luckin is aiming for, however, remains to be seen.