Amazon's Alexa digital assistant can now order millions of products through voice commands

Steve Pak | Jul 02, 2016 08:10 AM EDT

Amazon’s virtual assistant Alexa an now order tens of millions of products using the tech giant’s Internet of Things (IoT) devices for smart homes including Amazon Echo, Dot, and Tap. In the past the digital assistant could only reorder items or Amazon’s Choice products. However, now Amazon Prime customers can order new products ranging from toilet paper to AA batteries.

There are still some things the personal assistant cannot order. They include clothing, shoes, jewelry, watches, and Add-On items.

An Amazon representative explained that the home hubs cannot order such items because sizing is required, according to VentureBeat.  However, the company is perpetually adding new items.

Alexa hit the market a few years ago. Since then its rollout has been slow but it is an important tool for the online retailer.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos stated weeks ago that Echo could become the fourth pillar of the company. The other pillars include Amazon Prime, Amazon Web Services, and its retail business.

Digital assistants have often been making tech news during past few months.

Google recently announced its smart speaker Google Home that will take on Amazon’s Echo. It has been about a year and a half since Amazon announced the Echo.

Google Home will be launched later this year but the price has not been set. Mario Queiroz is the Google executive supporting the project and also launched the Alphabet company’s Chromecast media player.

Home is a small speaker that plugs into the wall. It can answer questions, play music, and control some IoT gadgets.

Meanwhile, Apple launched SiriKit for iOS devices. In addition, a future Apple TV will also compete with Echo.

In related news, Amazon recently revamped the skills of Echo. It can now work with third-party apps and services including Spotify and Uber, according to Business Insider.

The company informed Amazon Echo and Amazon Tap owners that they can add over 1,400 skills by saying the words “Alexa, enable.” Amazon also recently added CapitalOne to Alexa in March, and it might give Citibank account holders the ability to pay bills using the digital assistant.   

Echo users can now also browse through various categories of skills in the Alexa mobile app. They include groupings such as “Smart Home.” 

Here’s a review of Amazon Tap: