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Alexa can now place orders for Prime Now delivery

The voice-activated assistant can now ​place orders through Amazon's two-hour delivery service.
Written by Natalie Gagliordi, Contributor

Amazon's Alexa has yet another new skill under her belt: The voice-activated assistant can now place orders through Amazon Prime Now, the ecommerce giant's two-hour delivery service, as well as Amazon's recent alcohol delivery service rolling out in a few pilot cities.

The news comes just days after Alexa was added to Amazon's iOS shopping app, giving iPhone and iPad users access to Alexa's full skill set.

Amazon says this latest development gives Alexa the ability to order multiple items at once, make recommendations and automatically choose the next available Prime Now two-hour delivery window. Voice-activated Alexa shopping works on the Amazon Echo, Echo Dot, Amazon Tap, Fire Tablet, and Fire TV.

Additionally, Prime Now shoppers in select cities can use Alexa to get wine, beer and spirits delivered to their doorstep. The booze delivery service is available in Seattle while beer and wine sales are available in Columbus and Cincinnati, Ohio.

"Bringing Prime Now to Alexa voice shopping combines two of the most innovative shopping technologies available for an experience that our customers are going to wonder how they ever lived without," said Assaf Ronen, VP of Voice Shopping, in a statement. "We're excited to offer the full Prime Now catalogue with Alexa, including tens of thousands of items, which allows you to refill everyday essentials you've just run out of like diapers or dish soap, or cater to unexpected guests with merlot and ice cream, all without ever leaving your house or even getting up from the couch."

For Amazon, the recent push to expand Alexa across its ecosystem could help the voice assistant find a wider audience as it competes with Google Home. It also sets the stage for Alexa to become the primary interface between Amazon and its customers at a time when vocal computing is finding a place in more devices.

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