Supermarket chain Kroger is enlisting self-driving cars to deliver groceries.

On Thursday, Kroger announced a partnership with Nuro, a Silicon Valley startup that's been developing an autonomous vehicle that specializes in transporting goods.

Kroger, which operates in 35 states, is planning to test the new service in a select market this fall. Customers there will be able to place their order via Kroger's ClickList online system and have their items delivered the same day.

The new partnership might help the grocer compete against Amazon, which recently bought Whole Foods and has been offering 2-hour grocery deliveries in certain markets.

Kroger has not yet specified how much service will cost, but the company said its goal for this partnership is to make grocery delivery accessible and affordable to all. The supermarket chain currently charges a $5.95 fee and $6 service charge for same-day deliveries.

"Unmanned delivery will be a game-changer for local commerce," Nuro Co-Founder Dave Ferguson said in a statement. The partnership with Kroger will mark the first time Nuro's cars are deployed for real deliveries. The Silicon Valley startup was founded in 2016 and is led by two former engineers who worked on Google's self-driving car project, now called Waymo.

The new service does appear to have at least one limitation: it requires the customer to pull the groceries out from the self-driving car. To do so, a special access code will be sent to the customer's smartphone that can be used to open the vehicle's doors.

Kroger plans to announce the test market soon. The supermarket chain operates 3,800 stores.