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BackAmazon launches Alexa+ conversational assistant in India with Hindi support
Amazon launches Alexa+ conversational assistant in India with Hindi support
Tech
TechCrunch4 hours agoTech1 min readUnited States

Amazon launches Alexa+ conversational assistant in India with Hindi support

The upgraded assistant features longer conversations, context maintenance, and integration with local services like Swiggy and Zomato.

amazonalexa+india

Quick Look

Amazon has launched its Alexa+ conversational assistant in India in Early Access with Hindi and English support, offering multi-step task handling and local service integrations.

AI-generated summary

Why It Matters

Amazon launched Alexa in India in English in 2017 and added Hindi support in 2019.

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Amazon today announced that its Alexa+ conversational assistant is available in India with Hindi support. The new assistant can hold conversations for longer and maintain context while doing so.

The feature is available to all customers in the country in Early Access in Hindi and English. After the early testing period, the company will make the assistant free for Prime customers. For non-Prime customers, the price would be ₹2,000 per month ($20.85).

The company said that the new Alexa has a more expressive voice and can handle complex multi-step tasks, including ordering groceries from Amazon’s quick commerce service Amazon Now and turning on/off smart home devices. Users can switch between English and Hindi mid-sentence.

Amazon added that Alexa+ is integrated with India-based services such as food delivery service Swiggy, Zomato’s ticket booking platform District, travel websites like TripAdvisor and MakeMyTrip, and restaurant reservation app EazyDiner. The upgraded assistant is also integrated with music streaming services such as Amazon Music and JioSaavn.

In June, TechCrunch reported that the company had invited users to enroll in a testing program for Alexa+, through which they could have conversations with the assistant in Hindi. After that, the company also started testing an English version of Alexa+.

Amazon launched Alexa in India in English in 2017 and added Hindi support in 2019. The country has more than 600 million Hindi speakers, and Amazon is trying to tap into that market with its smart devices and new features. The company didn’t give absolute numbers, but said that its smart home devices have grown by 20% from last year.

What to Watch

AI outlook — possibilities, not facts

  • Amazon will make Alexa+ free for Prime customers after early testing.

    Very likely · Within months

Open Questions

  • When will the early access period end?
  • What is the exact official subscriber count for smart home devices?

Related Topics

amazon
OrganizationsAmazonTechCrunchSwiggyZomato
PlacesIndia
Topicsalexa+indiahindiconversational assistantsmart home
This article was originally published by TechCrunch.

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