Amazon says its latest upgrade to its next-generation AI assistant, Alexa+, allows you to order food from popular delivery services Uber Eats and Grubhub in a conversational way, much like you would talk to a waiter at a restaurant or order at a drive-thru.
The purpose of this new Alexa+ feature is to create a more natural and interactive ordering experience. Starting today, users will be able to request food, explore menu options, ask questions, and customize their meal in one conversation. If the user changes their mind midway through, wants to add a dessert, or adjust the amount, they can make changes instantly.
To enable this feature, users must link their Grubhub or Uber Eats accounts through the Alexa app. Once linked, your previous orders will be automatically synced, making it easy to reorder your favorite meals or discover new restaurants. Users can say things like “I’d like to order Italian food for delivery,” and Alexa+ will guide them through different restaurant options. Once an order is set up, users can get a comprehensive overview of the products in their cart, including quantity and price.
This new food ordering experience is starting to roll out to Alexa+ customers with Echo Show 8 and above devices. Amazon describes this development as a significant advance toward its goal of establishing an adaptive interaction model. This work lays the groundwork for extending similar capabilities to other areas, such as grocery shopping and travel arrangements.
The Alexa+ upgrade comes amid the broader impact of AI in the food industry. Fast food chains have already started using AI assistants in their drive-thrus, but challenges remain, especially when it comes to order accuracy. In 2024, McDonald’s paused the effort after several failures, including an AI cashier accidentally adding nine sweet teas to a customer’s order. In addition, Taco Bell faced a similar incident and released a video showing the AI making mistakes.
Since the rollout of Alexa+ in the US and recent expansion to the UK, capabilities have continued to grow, including new personality styles for Alexa, such as a “sassy” option designed for adults, as well as other styles such as Brief, Chill, and Sweet.
