Seattle (CNN Business) Over the past year, Amazon has opened seven of its Amazon Go stores to the public, ditching checkout lines for AI that tracks what customers want to buy. Now, the retailer is taking its cashier-free shops in a new, smaller direction.

On Wednesday, Amazon opened its first pint-sized Amazon Go store, which takes up about 450 square feet inside one of its Seattle offices — a fraction of other Amazon Go locations, which range from 1,800 to 2,000 square feet.

Amazon Go Vice President Gianna Puerini, who gave CNN Business a look around the store early this week, said the idea is to eventually bring them to places like office building lobbies and hospitals. Similar to the full-size stores, she said, they could go "anywhere where there's a lot of people who are hungry and in a rush."

Amazon is rolling out a small-format version of its checkout-free shop, starting at its Seattle headquarters.

Puerini wouldn't say when others will open, though she said she hopes they will crop up "soon." Such small stores could also help Amazon keep ahead of a handful of startups who are trying to convince existing retailers to buy their cashierless technology.

Unlike other Amazon Go stores — seven are open and two others are under construction — this one is not available to the general public. Only Amazon employees and guests can visit the store. The retailer took the same approach with its first Amazon Go store, which initially opened in 2016 just to employees. It's "just easier for us to experiment closer to home," Puerini said.

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