Amazon's Alexa can now re-order your next meal from Amazon Restaurants

By Mark Coppock January 5, 2017

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Amazon has transformed itself into much more than just an online retailer. Sure, it sells billions of dollars’ worth of merchandise every year and is recognized as the place to go for just about anything you want to buy. But Amazon also offers a host of other products and services, including its Amazon Prime offering that continues to add value in different ways.

Amazon Alexa is increasingly becoming the best way to get access to everything that Amazon has to offer. The voice-command system uses Amazon’s personal artificial intelligence infrastructure to control your home, do research, play music, buy things, and because it’s expandable via new skills, Alexa becomes more helpful every day. Now, you can use Alexa to order your next meal, as Amazon has created a new skill supporting the company’s Amazon Restaurants service.

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Amazon Restaurants is available only to Amazon Prime customers in certain regions and it’s a way to easily and without hassle order a meal from a number of participating restaurants. Spend $20 or more and delivery is free. Previously, you needed to use the Amazon and Prime Now mobile apps to place orders, but that is all changing.

“Customers now have a hands-free, hassle-free way to re-order any meal from Amazon Restaurants using their voice to get dinner on the table,” said Gus Lopez, Amazon Restaurant’s general manager. “We are excited to leverage the innovative Alexa technology and give Prime members another easy way for Amazon Restaurants to take care of dinnertime with no menu markups and free delivery in one hour or less.”

If you’re an Amazon Prime member in a supported region and you use an Alexa Echo or Echo Dot, then you can say something like “Alexa, order sushi from Amazon Restaurants” to get started. Alexa will take a look at your order history and pick a place and list out options for re-order. Once you have completed your order, then Amazon will enlist a local delivery partner to bring your meal to your doorstep with no additional or hidden charges.

For now, the new Alexa skill is limited to re-orders and so if you are starting from scratch, you will have to access Amazon Restaurants via the web or app. Nevertheless, if you are lucky enough to live in one of the 20 supported cities, then your next order of nachos is just a voice-command away.

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