Agent24

An AI chatbot that speaks Malayalam, Hindi, Manglish and Hinglish: why it matters

Customers write the way they talk, in mixed languages and voice notes. Here's why language support decides whether a WhatsApp bot gets used, and what to look for.

2 min read

On this page
  1. How customers really write
  2. What good language support looks like
  3. Your tone, not a translation
  4. Templates and reminders in your customers' languages
  5. Your website in your language
  6. Try it

"Chechi, nale evening oru slot undo?" That's a real kind of message: Malayalam words, English letters, one English word in the middle. Across India and much of the world, customers write the way they talk. A chatbot that only understands clean English misses a big share of them.

How customers really write

  • Mixed languages in Latin letters: Manglish, Hinglish, Tanglish.
  • Native scripts: Malayalam, Hindi, Tamil, Arabic.
  • Voice notes, especially from older customers and anyone driving or cooking.
  • Short and informal: "rate?", "stock undo?", "kitna?".

Keyword bots break on all of these. A customer who gets "Sorry, I didn't understand" once doesn't try again.

What good language support looks like

  • Replies in the customer's language. A Manglish question gets a Manglish answer, a Hindi question a Hindi answer.
  • Understands voice notes. The note is transcribed and answered like text, and your team can play the original.
  • Keeps your facts the same in every language. The price is the price whichever language it's quoted in.
  • Knows when to switch. If a customer moves to English mid-chat, the agent follows.

Your tone, not a translation

Language is not only words. The way you greet ("Hi dear", "Namaskaram"), whether you use emoji, how formal you are: customers recognise it. Agent24 can learn your style from an exported WhatsApp chat of yours and write a short style guide you can edit. Your customers' numbers and emails are masked in your browser, and the chat itself is never stored. See Teach your agent.

Templates and reminders in your customers' languages

Reminders and order updates on WhatsApp use pre-approved templates. Agent24 creates them in your first two reply languages too, and each customer gets the one in the language they write in, with English as a fallback.

Your website in your language

The free business website and its chat show up in your business's main language, including right-to-left layout for Arabic and Urdu. Each chat bubble follows the direction of its own text.

Try it

The fastest test is your own: start free, then message your agent the way your customers do. Send a voice note. Mix languages. If it answers the way you would, it's ready for your customers.

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