Transcending age barriers, Alexa becomes part of Indian homes

“The moment we say ‘Alexa’, my baby daughter, Siara, excitedly starts clapping as Alexa is her virtual best friend who has been by her side from the day she was born!” says Akriti Sachdev. Akriti’s recent Instagram post shows her little daughter overjoyed at hearing her mother’s voice command, “Alexa, play Hips Don’t Lie!” Indeed, Siara’s joy knows no bounds as Alexa plays the popular Shakira number.

Considering that it’s been barely four years since Alexa stepped into our homes, Amazon’s interactive voice service has already managed to become a part of our everyday lives and brings a smile to everyone’s face. Take the case of the endearing grandmother who regularly commands Alexa to play her Ganapati bhajan, aarti as well as stuti each morning.

Contrary to popular belief, it is not just Gen-Y, techie nerds and gizmo geeks who are obsessed with Alexa. Almost all generations of India’s families, right from grandparents to their youngest members are enamoured with Alexa. Let’s just say that Alexa has impressed cross-generational users!

When a little boy asks Alexa to play the popular yesteryear song, ‘Dum Dum Diga Diga’, his face lights up as soon as Alexa plays it. His parents quip, “He just doesn’t give commands to Alexa, but listens to Alexa as well; and then responds too!”

When the 91-year-old Mr Verma said, “Alexa, it’s my birthday today,” Alexa immediately sang ‘Happy birthday to you’ for him. What is interesting is the immense ease with which the elderly gentleman conversed with Alexa, as shared by his grandson, Siddharth Verma, on Twitter.

For seniors who struggle with receding memories, weakening vision, and mobility issues, Alexa’s ability to set reminders, answer questions, hands-free Alexa to Alexa calling and controlling smart home appliances such as lights and AC with voice commands has been very helpful. Not surprisingly, Alexa has become a trusted companion for many elderly people. “Conversing with Alexa has become part of my daily routine,” shares a sporty nonagenarian, when we asked him what role the voice assistant played in his life.

Alexa has also been known to crack jokes. When little Aarav impishly asks, “Alexa, kitne aadmi the? Alexa’s reply is a witty pun from the classic Bollywood movie, Sholay, “Hmmm, soch rahi hoon, kya bolun jisse sardar khush honge, shabaasi denge!”

Alexa is especially good with children, helping them learn and grow, while having fun along the way. Many families have turned to Alexa to engage their children with a screen-free gadget. Smart learning has become so much easier with Alexa.

“Alexa, practice addition with Amazon Math.”
“Alexa, how do you spell ‘beautiful’?”
“Alexa, tell me the names of the days of the week.”
“Alexa, let’s play a game.”

And the list of fun learning commands from young family members is endless.

As we celebrate Alexa turning four in India, we realize just how easily the voice service has become a member of our households. People of all ages have adopted the use of voice and made it a part of their daily lives, asking Alexa to do everything from reciting bhajans, and nursery rhymes to shayari.

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Alexa can answer just about every question. Users across the country, spanning age groups have found value, adopting Alexa into their daily lives rather seamlessly.

In the last 4 years millions of Indian customers have used the Alexa voice service in English, Hindi and Hinglish on Echo range of devices, Fire TV, Amazon shopping app for Android, and Alexa built-in devices by other brands. Customers in India like talking to Alexa and interact millions of times each week in English, Hindi and Hinglish. With almost 50% customers from non-metro cities, the number of requests to Alexa in 2021 increased by 68% since the previous year.