Amazon is inviting Indian users to participate in the beta testing of a Hindi version of Alexa+.

      Amazon is currently beta-testing a Hindi version of Alexa+ in India, marking its first foray into a non-Western language market. The company has reached out to select Indian customers via email, inviting them to participate in the beta-testing program, as reported by TechCrunch, which has seen these invitations.

      The emails requested users to complete a form in Hindi by June 22 to join the program. “We are developing a new Alexa experience, and your feedback will be crucial in refining the capabilities of Alexa+,” the invitation stated, noting that participants would be informed when the Hindi testing phase is ready.

      Amazon has confirmed the testing of Alexa+ in India but has not provided further comments. The beta version is expected to contain bugs and could offer incorrect information or mispronounce local dialects, as mentioned in the email. Currently, Alexa+ is not available in India, and no launch date has been specified.

      The Hindi-speaking market is vast, with over 600 million people in India speaking the language, often mixing it with English in conversations. Amazon first launched Alexa in India in 2017 with English support and introduced Hindi compatibility in September 2019. However, the original Alexa functioned as a command-based system and lacked the conversational AI features that define Alexa+.

      Alexa+ represents Amazon's generative AI transformation of its voice assistant, utilizing a combination of its own models and third-party AI, including technology from Anthropic. The company announced Alexa+ in February 2025 and made it accessible to all US users in February 2026, with a cost of approximately twenty dollars per month, although Prime members can access it for free. Since then, it has expanded to various countries, including the UK, Canada, Mexico, Italy, Spain, Germany, Austria, and France.

      Entering the Indian market is a significant move for Amazon in terms of reaching beyond Western markets. India poses unique challenges for voice AI, such as numerous regional languages, extensive code-switching between Hindi and English, and distinct pronunciation patterns that differ significantly from the accents used in most AI training.

      Amazon is not the only tech company targeting Indian voice users; Reliance’s Jio recently revealed its Call Agent at its annual shareholder meeting, an AI assistant that can participate in phone calls, transcribe conversations, and execute tasks like cab booking and food ordering. Jio claims their service will support 22 Indian languages and will cater to its over 500 million subscribers.

      Additionally, Meta has made a $900 million investment in Indian fintech company Cred and has appointed its founder to head WhatsApp, indicating that India remains a fiercely competitive tech market. Amazon's own $35 billion investment in India, primarily focused on logistics and e-commerce, now also encompasses AI.

      It remains uncertain if Amazon can effectively implement Alexa+ in Hindi to compete with local alternatives. The original Alexa did not achieve the same popularity in India as it did in the US, and a beta test filled with bugs and mispronunciations is quite distant from a refined product. However, the fact that Amazon is focusing on Hindi localization suggests that it views India as a key component of its strategy for its AI assistant rather than an afterthought.

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Amazon is inviting Indian users to participate in the beta testing of a Hindi version of Alexa+.

Amazon is inviting Indian users to participate in a beta test for a Hindi version of Alexa+, its generative AI assistant, as it broadens its reach beyond English-speaking markets.