“Imagine ordering delivery the same way you would with a waiter — changing your mind, asking questions, and customizing as you go, all in one continuous conversation,” the tech giant wrote in a March 31 announcement.
“Starting today, that’s exactly how Alexa+ will work with a new way to order food delivery with Grubhub and Uber Eats. It’s just the start of our long-term vision for how customers can interact with Alexa.”
The company said this replaces the call-and-response model of past voice assistants with a more conversational experience.
When users begin an order, they’ll see a new conversational window that lets them browse, choose and order with “minimal back-and-forth” with Alexa, Amazon added. That means the ability to switch orders mid-conversation, modify an item or change quantities.
We’d love to be your preferred source for news.
Please add us to your preferred sources list so our news, data and interviews show up in your feed. Thanks!
“What excites us about Alexa+ is how it turns restaurant discovery and ordering into one seamless, conversational experience,” Tapojoy Chatterjee, Grubhub’s vice president of product, said in the announcement.
Advertisement: Scroll to Continue
“Customers can simply talk through what they’re craving, ask questions, get recommendations, and build their order in real time. It’s an added convenience for diners, and for our restaurant partners, it provides another meaningful path for visibility and a smooth transition from discovery to a completed order.”
Amazon describes the integration as the first step in Alexa+ adjusting its interaction model according to the tasks users are trying to accomplish. Ordering food, the company said, requires a “different flow” that looking at the weather forecast or operating smart home devices.
“We’re building a future where Alexa+ automatically adapts to what you’re trying to accomplish, providing the most natural experience for each unique task,” the company said.
Amazon is launching this update to Alexa+ at a time when, per PYMNTS Intelligence research, consumers are turning to artificial intelligence assistants to handle everyday tasks.
“Overall, three in 10 consumers say they would be interested in an autonomous AI assistant handling at least some of their everyday planning, signaling early but notable demand for agentic AI in personal contexts,” PYMNTS wrote late last year. “The data suggests the next phase of consumer AI adoption will hinge less on conversation and more on trust, task specificity and perceived value.”
However, the research found stiff resistance from some consumers, with 44% of those who do not use conversational AI saying they would not allow an autonomous AI agent to perform personal tasks on their behalf.
Add as Preferred Source
