New Delhi: Google Assistant which is now available across Android smartphones, has received about 4.5 lakh proposals for marriage in India. The voice-based assistant was launched in India last year.


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"Google Assistant is available in India in Hindi and English. It has increasingly become popular in India... We have 4.5 lakh marriage proposals to Google Assistant from India," Google VP of Product Management and General Manager of Home Products Rishi Chandra said.


He explained that voice is becoming an increasingly common way for computing and its Google Assistant goes further than search as it understands context.


The Tech giant on Tuesday launched its voice-activated speakers 'Home' in the Indian market as it looks to take on rival's devices like Amazon Echo.


The Google Assistant-powered 'Home' and 'Home Mini' will be priced at Rs 9,999, and Rs 4,499, respectively. It will be available online exclusively on Flipkart, and in over 750 retail stores including Reliance Digital, Croma and Vijay Sales, among others.


Google has partnered firms like Saavn, Gaana, India Today and Aaj Tak, among others to stream content through the speakers.


"These products have been customised to match the needs of the Indian consumer. It understands Indian accents, and will respond to users with uniquely Indian contexts," Chandra added.


Chandra emphasised that the device, however, does not record any sound passively and wakes up only with the voice command 'OK Google', following which sound is recorded.


He said the company is looking at bringing in support for Hindi language to 'Home' soon.


The devices also come with a voice match feature that distinguishes between different users to provide a personalised experience to different individuals. It has been designed with two microphones that utilise a technique called 'neural beam forming' to enable accurate far-field voice recognition.


Last year, e-commerce giant Amazon had launched its Alexa-powered 'Echo' smart speakers in India priced at Rs 4,499 onwards.


With PTI Inputs