"Namaste Google!"
by Alison Cuevas on October 26, 2020
In case you missed it: Episode 1 Highlights
of VOICE Talks India
The very first episode of VOICE Talks India aired on September 24th with an exciting line-up of speakers including industry leaders, platform craters, Google Product specialists and voice-first influencers to discuss the transformative power of voice technology in India.
VOICE Talks India host and CEO of Agrahyah Technologies, Sreeraman Thiagarajan, set the context and gave an introduction to the voice space. The chat section lit up as viewers interacted about their first experiences with voice technology.
Sreeraman shared the ways his own family uses voice technology to get things done without lifting a finger. In a rush, his wife will use Google Assistant to call a cab and his son will track his pizza delivery “like a boss”. Whether using voice for assistance during everyday tasks or for educational purposes, Indians' use of voice technology is growing immensely.
Business decision makers are also making the most of voice technology as they use it to empower their customers and encourage the creation of a self-serve environment. For example, to check your account balance, you can request information without having to wait on the phone to speak to a bank representative.
On this episode of VOICE Talks India, they shared about inclusivity across socioeconomic groups as the Next Billion Users have made 9 Indian languages available. This means that those who are less technologically savvy are able to speak and navigate their phones more easily.
“New internet users find it hard to access the internet in english,” Google Assistant Technical Program Manager, Purvi Shah, said. “Voice bridges this gap by helping users access information in their preferred natural language,” Shah said.
It was inspiring to hear how Indians have adopted voice and made it their own. While most Indian homes don’t have multiple voice devices, almost every Android does have Voice Assistant. This is especially important as India has always been a mobile-first market with Android dominating the landscape.
Research expert Jaipal Singh of International Data Corporation shared an informative presentation on the statistics and numbers that underlie the adoption of voice in India.
“The numbers are beyond promising for the Voice industry,” Singh said. “We anticipate that 84% of mobile users will be on smartphones by 2024. In 2020, almost 25% of smartphone users said they use a voice assistant on their smartphones.”
“I think unlocking internet access for the vernacular audience is a big step in a more equitable internet,” Nimesh Ranjan, Assistant NBU Product Lead at Google said.
Lastly, M.V.S. Murthy of Tata Asset Management Limited led an exciting panel discussion with panelists Geetha Iyer, Arpanarghya Saha, and Vishal Golia on how brands are leveraging the power of voice to reach out to customers.
“To make things happen we need a lot of collaboration between content creators and brands to keep things interesting,'' M.V.S. said.“This panel is the first step in making the magic happen!”
If you missed the VOICE Talks India inaugural event, you can watch the recording on YouTube and be sure to register for future episodes.
