When I tested Alexa Plus last year, I liked that the conversational voice assistant could connect with third-party apps, such as Uber, but many app integrations were still distant promises. That future is now: Starting this week, Alexa Plus is expanding to food delivery, letting users order from Uber Eats and Grubhub.
Once you connect your Uber or Grubhub app to an Alexa Plus device, you’ll be able to ask about food deliveries and open a window to talk your order out. While Alexa Plus is usually very chatty (in all of its various personalities), the food ordering experience is designed to be minimal, showing your current thoughts and menu decisions in real time.
When I tried this feature, I could only use it on my Echo Show, not in the Alexa app, because Alexa quickly told me it needed the larger Echo Show to visually walk me through the process. (Amazon says you need an Echo Show 8 or larger.) You may have to reboot your app and devices to reconnect third-party apps before you can start experimenting.
Watching the order text lets you see what you’ve chosen and change it with additional voice commands as you think through your order. Alexa will speak up if you ask for food ideas or help with a meal choice. It’s meant to be a more adaptive, adjust-on-the-fly experience.
A representative from Amazon didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
“What excites us about Alexa Plus is how it turns restaurant discovery and ordering into one seamless, conversational experience,” said Tapojoy Chatterjee, vice president of product at Grubhub. “Customers can simply talk through what they’re craving, ask questions, get recommendations, and build their order in real time.”
You can talk to Alexa Plus about local restaurants, ask to see different menu sections, and get tracking updates by saying, “Alexa, where’s my food?”
How to get Alexa Plus
You currently have a couple of different options. First, you can subscribe to Amazon Prime, which starts at $15 per month and includes Prime Video and Alexa Plus. This is the most affordable option right now.
You could also subscribe to Alexa Plus as a standalone voice assistant service, but that will cost $20 per month. There’s a free version of Alexa Plus you can experiment with on the web app, but remember, without a larger Echo Show, this food delivery conversation can’t happen.
A small word of warning: When I tested Alexa Plus, it sometimes fell into the trap of promising too much but failing to deliver. That could be risky if you’re asking Alexa about food allergies or menu substitutions, so pay close attention to your final order.
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