Google launches voice-based local search service in Mumbai, Bangalore

Google India has launched its voice-based local search service in Mumbai and Bangalore where users can call a toll free number (1 800 41 999 999) from any phone to search for local business and movie show-times and get the results by SMS. The company had earlier introduced this service in Hyderabad and later extended it to Delhi/NCR.

According to Google, if a user is looking for pizza delivery businesses he can just call and say ‘pizza’ and his area name like ‘Bandra’ in Mumbai or ‘MG Road’ in Bangalore to get listings near him.

“We are continuously working towards improving our speech recognition technology but it is still not perfect and it may not recognize you at times. We will transfer your call to an operator after 2 recognition failures and the operator will assist you with your query,” Rutvik Doshi, product manager, Google, has said.

“We believe that speech recognition and voice access to information is a very important technology for India because it helps us reach users who may not have access to PC or are on the move all the time,” Rutvik Doshi has added.

According to the company, Google Phone Search is free of charge and can be reached from any phone number - landline or mobile - in Hyderabad, Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. The service is currently available in English, Hindi and Telugu.