Amazon Echo can now order two-hour Prime Now delivery items

Planning a supremely lazy, gonna-lay-in-bed-and-not-leave-the-house day? Amazon is making it easier than ever with its latest voice-activated Alexa assistant features for its Amazon Echo devices.

It's today switching on the ability to make Prime Now orders through voice commands alone. Available to Amazon Prime subscribers, Prime Now delivers thousands of household items as quickly as two hours after an order was placed for a premium delivery fee.

Whether you're too ill to head to a chemist for some cold and flu medicine, or running dangerously low on snacks ahead of a party night, you can now have them brought straight to your door in a couple of hours, just by speaking to your smart speaker.

Alexa, get me drunk, ASAP

Making use of the new feature is as simple as saying “Alexa, order [product] from Prime Now” to your Alexa-enabled device, which also includes the Amazon Tap, Fire Tablet, and Fire TV gadgets.

And, for the lucky, hard-drinking few stateside in Seattle, Washington all manner of booze available through Amazon Prime Now can be ordered, while beer and wine are available in Columbus and Cincinnati, Ohio.

A wider liquor roll-out around the world is not mentioned by Amazon, but youngsters looking to game the system are out of luck – you'll still need to show valid ID on delivery of the booze.

Gerald Lynch

Gerald is Editor-in-Chief of iMore.com. Previously he was the Executive Editor for TechRadar, taking care of the site's home cinema, gaming, smart home, entertainment and audio output. He loves gaming, but don't expect him to play with you unless your console is hooked up to a 4K HDR screen and a 7.1 surround system. Before TechRadar, Gerald was Editor of Gizmodo UK. He is also the author of 'Get Technology: Upgrade Your Future', published by Aurum Press.