Last year, ‘loneliness’ was an unfortunate buzzword owing to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. 2020 was undoubtedly a difficult year for many, especially those suffering from anxiety and depression. With nowhere to go and no one to interact with, some Indians found a companion in voice assistant Amazon Alexa.
Recently, Amazon India revealed some fascinating data which showed that Indians on an average proposed to the smart voice assistant, Alexa around 19,000 times a day by saying ‘Alexa, I love you.’
The data was shared on the special occasion of Alexa turning three on Monday. It is also noted that lovers express their feelings for their partners on the Propose day during the Valentines' Day Week.
Indian customers interacted with the digital voice assistant 67 per cent more during the lockdown. Apart from casual talks, they used the device for setting alarms, controlling electrical appliances remotely, playing music, and similar real-time tasks.
“Alexa users spanned the corners of the country and came in equal numbers from metros like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore as well as smaller cities like Spiti, Bundi, and Gadchiroli. Customers from over 85 per cent pin codes purchased Echo smart speakers in 2020,” the company said in a statement.
Alexa not just served as a token of love but was also bombarded with requests such as, Will You Marry Me, Please share a joke and to narrate a story. Roughly, 9000 requests were made for jokes, while 19,000 times people just wanted to listen to a story, including Hindi and Urdu poetries.
“Be it the Echo device in the living room, 100+ Alexa built-in devices or your favourite smartphone, it is heart-warming to see users across the length and breadth of the country across age groups find value and adopt Alexa in their daily lives. For us, it is always Day 1 as we learn from our customers and continue to add new features, improving Alexa’s understanding on topics that matter to users locally,” a report in India.com quoted Puneesh Kumar, Country Leader for Alexa, Amazon India.
The year 2020 connected millions of users of Alexa when they were separated amidst the pandemic.
