ST. LOUIS—Panera Bread announced that MyPanera members can now order via Alexa on Echo Show devices. Ordering with Alexa provides convenience for MyPanera members and allows them to order via voice or touch—without having to open the Panera app. With this new feature, MyPanera members can simply ask Alexa to order their favorite Panera items for pick-up or delivery, the company said in a statement.
To start ordering via Alexa, MyPanera members will need to have an Echo Show device and a stored payment method, and for delivery orders, an address in their MyPanera account. From there, they can ask Alexa to order food from Panera, add items to their order, customize items and check out—all through voice. To make this service possible, Panera worked with Amazon to enable Alexa to learn the Panera menu. The experience honors Unlimited Sip Club same-day redemptions.
“While our guests love the Panera app, we know there are times where it’s just more convenient to be hands-free and order by voice, and we are thrilled to work with Amazon to design and offer another convenient way to order Panera,” said George Hanson, chief digital officer for Panera Bread. “We’re continuing to push the boundaries of what we can do to make our MyPanera members’ lives easier, and we’re just at the beginning of what is possible in the world of conversational commerce.”
“Ordering with Alexa gives customers an easy and natural way to connect with their favorite restaurants at home,” said Mark Yoshitake, GM and director of Alexa skills. “Panera is the first to use our updated Alexa Food Skills API, which incorporates state-of the-art techniques in conversational AI to make the ordering process through Alexa more intuitive. Now, customers can reorder their favorite meal, ask to add avocado and bacon to their sandwich, or track their delivery without having to pick up their phone or open an app.”
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