Should my AI agent speak pure Hindi or Hinglish?
For most business calls, Hinglish. Callers in Indian cities speak Hindi with English words mixed in, and a pure, Sanskritised Hindi script can sound stiff or even confusing. Outpero's agent calls in Hindi and switches to English the moment the caller does, in the same voice. Choose a more formal Hindi register only for audiences who expect it.
How people actually talk
Everyday Hindi in cities is full of English: appointment, demo, EMI, address, payment, confirm. Words such as these are the natural ones, and replacing them with textbook Hindi equivalents makes the agent sound like a government notice. A caller who hears something unnatural suspects a script and hangs up sooner.
A natural opening versus a stiff one
| Register | Opening line | English meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Hinglish | नमस्ते सर, आपने हमारी website पर demo के लिए enquiry की थी, उसी के बारे में call कर रहा हूँ। | Hello sir, you enquired on our website for a demo, I am calling about that. |
| Formal Hindi | नमस्कार महोदय, आपने हमारे जालस्थल पर प्रदर्शन हेतु पूछताछ की थी। | Greetings, sir, you made an enquiry on our website for a demonstration. |
Most listeners find the first natural. The second is correct Hindi, but few people say it on the phone.
When a more formal Hindi suits
- —Older callers, retired government staff or customers in smaller towns who prefer a respectful, traditional tone.
- —Government-adjacent services, trusts and religious institutions.
- —Brands whose identity is deliberately formal.
- —Content such as legal terms, where a precise Hindi word is clearer than the English one.
How to set it up on Outpero
Write the brief in the register you want, naming the words the agent should use or avoid, for example always saying appointment rather than a Hindi equivalent. The agent follows the caller: if the caller shifts into English, it does too, mid-sentence, in the same voice. Hindi calls are priced like every other language, at ₹5 or ₹6.8 per connected minute.
The decision is easy to test. Run 100 calls with each register, read the transcripts for where people interrupt or ask for repetition, and keep the version that holds attention. Outpero is a specialist in regional-language voice AI, and the same logic applies in Telugu, Tamil, Marathi, Kannada and Malayalam.
Want to hear an AI voice agent handle this on a real call?