Amazon is preparing to launch its voice assistant, Alexa, along with devices from its Echo lineup in India later this year, per a report by The Economic Times, quoting unnamed sources.
The report also claims that Amazon is already testing Alexa and the Echo devices in the country, with select company executives, business professionals, and analysts using the products for the past month.
However, Alexa still needs some work to be prepared for a debut in the country; "As of now, there is still a barrier to the extent of Alexa"s capabilities because you cannot use it to purchase groceries from a local store or book yourself an Uber," the report states, quoting one of the people testing the Echo devices.
India also introduces its own set of challenges for Alexa: the country’s requirement of mandatory two-factor authentication for payments of more than ₹2,000 ($30) means that Amazon will have to be creative with how it handles shopping via Alexa.
The country’s diverse set of languages pose a hurdle as well; while the Echo devices will launch with English, support for Indian languages like Hindi, Tamil, and Marathi will be added later, as the report claims that Amazon is developing multi-lingual support for Alexa at its Chennai facility.
Amazon launched its online marketplace in India back in 2013 and quickly became the country’s second largest online retailer last year. Amazon’s Prime subscription was also introduced last year in the country, with an annual subscription cost of ₹999 ($15).
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos stated that the company will “keep investing and growing” in India, earlier this week. It’s clear that the country is an important market for Amazon. Hopefully, India’s challenges will also bring some new features for Alexa, and perhaps improve its language skills as well.
Source: The Economic Times