# AI Phone Surveys in Hindi & Regional Languages

> Run phone surveys in Hindi, Odia, Telugu, Tamil and other Indian languages with an AI voice agent: question design, answer capture, sample size and cost.

Source: https://edesy.in/blog/ai-phone-surveys-hindi-regional-languages-2026

**An AI voice agent can run a phone survey in Hindi, Odia, Telugu, Tamil or any major Indian
language, and return every answer as a clean spreadsheet row.** You upload a contact list, write
3-5 short questions, define the allowed answers, and the agent calls, asks, understands the spoken
reply and records it. This is faster and cheaper than a telecalling team for large samples, and it
reaches people who never open an online form. On Edesy it runs as an
[AI survey caller](https://edesy.in/ai-survey-caller).

This guide covers question design for voice, capturing answers as data, choosing languages,
planning sample size, and cost.

> **Run a 100-call pilot survey:** [Start free on Edesy](https://voice-agent.edesy.in/?utm_source=edesy.in&utm_medium=blog&utm_campaign=ai-phone-surveys-hindi-regional-languages-2026) — self-serve, Rs 50 free credit, no demo needed.

## Why phone surveys still matter in India

Online surveys work for audiences that live in email and apps. Many Indian audiences don't: rural
customers, older people, small shopkeepers, patients, farmers and students' parents. A phone call in
their own language gets answers that a link in an SMS never will.

The problem has always been cost and consistency. Human callers get tired, read questions differently
and log answers inconsistently. An AI agent asks every question the same way and stores answers in the
same format.

## What you can survey

- **Customer satisfaction (CSAT)** after delivery, service or support: see [CSAT surveys](https://edesy.in/ai-survey-caller/use-cases/csat-survey)
- **Net Promoter Score** (the 0-10 "would you recommend us" question): see [NPS surveys](https://edesy.in/ai-survey-caller/use-cases/nps-survey)
- **Market research**: product awareness, pricing reactions, brand recall: see [market research](https://edesy.in/ai-survey-caller/use-cases/market-research)
- **Employee feedback** for large field workforces: see [employee feedback](https://edesy.in/ai-survey-caller/use-cases/employee-feedback)
- **Beneficiary and citizen feedback** for schemes, municipal services and NGOs
- **Constituency and issue surveys**: see [AI calls for voter outreach](https://edesy.in/blog/ai-calls-voter-outreach-political-campaigns-india-2026)

## Designing questions for voice

A voice survey is not a web form read aloud. People can't see the options, so:

1. **Keep it to 3-5 questions**, under two minutes in total.
2. **Put the most important question first.** Some people hang up after two questions.
3. **Use closed answers:** yes/no, a 1-5 scale, or three named options.
4. **Say the scale in words:** "1 matlab bilkul khush nahi, 5 matlab bahut khush."
5. **One open question at the end** if you need reasons: "Aur koi sujhav?"
6. **Introduce yourself and the time needed:** "Main XYZ ki taraf se 1 minute ka survey kar rahi hoon."

An example three-question CSAT survey in Hinglish:

> Namaste {{name}} ji, main ABC Store se ek automated call kar rahi hoon. Aapke haal ke order ke baare
> mein sirf teen sawaal hain, ek minute lagega.
> 1. Kya aapka order time par mila? Haan ya nahi?
> 2. 1 se 5 mein, aap humari service se kitne khush hain?
> 3. Hum kya behtar kar sakte hain?
> Aapke samay ke liye dhanyavaad!

## Capturing answers as data

Before launch, define each question as a data field with the answers you allow:

| Field | Type | Allowed values |
|---|---|---|
| delivered_on_time | yes/no | yes, no |
| satisfaction | number | 1-5 |
| improvement | text | free text |
| callback_requested | yes/no | yes, no |

After each call, Edesy extracts these fields from the conversation, so a reply like "haan, time pe aa
gaya tha" is stored as `yes`. You also keep the recording and transcript to spot-check answers.
Export results as CSV, send them to Google Sheets, or push them to your CRM or a webhook.

## Choosing the language

Pick the language for each list, not for the whole survey. Edesy agents speak Hindi, Hinglish, Odia,
Bengali, Assamese, Telugu, Tamil, Marathi, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam and other Indian languages,
plus English. Some practical rules:

- **North India:** a natural Hindi-English mix usually works better than formal Hindi.
- **State-level surveys:** use the state language, with English numbers if that is how people speak.
- **Mixed lists:** add a `language` column to the file and split the campaign by language.

Language-specific pages: [Hindi](https://edesy.in/ai-survey-caller/languages/hindi),
[Odia](https://edesy.in/ai-survey-caller/languages/odia), [Bengali](https://edesy.in/ai-survey-caller/languages/bengali),
[Telugu](https://edesy.in/ai-survey-caller/languages/telugu), [Tamil](https://edesy.in/ai-survey-caller/languages/tamil),
[Marathi](https://edesy.in/ai-survey-caller/languages/marathi), [Gujarati](https://edesy.in/ai-survey-caller/languages/gujarati),
[Kannada](https://edesy.in/ai-survey-caller/languages/kannada).

## Planning sample size and completion

Not everyone answers, and not everyone who answers completes the survey. Plan backwards from the
number of completed responses you need, using your own past answer rates:

- **Completed responses needed:** for example 1,000
- **Assumed answer rate across retries:** for example 50%
- **Assumed completion rate among answered calls:** for example 70%
- **Numbers to call:** 1,000 / (0.5 x 0.7) = about **2,860**

These rates vary widely by audience and relationship, so run a pilot of 100-200 calls first and use
its real rates for the full plan. Retry unanswered numbers once or twice at different times of day.

## What an AI phone survey costs

On Edesy, calls are billed per started minute at Rs 4-6 per minute depending on your prepaid top-up,
and unanswered calls cost nothing. A 90-second survey uses 2 billed minutes, so a completed response
costs about **Rs 8-12**. Keep surveys under 60 seconds where you can: a one-minute survey costs half.

## Rules to follow

- Say who is calling, why, and that it is an automated call.
- Keep it short and let people opt out.
- Call within reasonable hours and respect DND preferences: see [TRAI and DND rules](https://edesy.in/blog/dnc-registry-voice-ai-trai-compliance).
- Store personal data under the DPDP Act: see [DPDP compliance for voice AI](https://edesy.in/blog/dpdp-act-voice-ai-compliance-india-2026).

## Start with a 100-call pilot

Upload 100 numbers, write three questions, and see your real answer and completion rates by tomorrow.
[Create a free account](https://voice-agent.edesy.in/?utm_source=edesy.in&utm_medium=blog&utm_campaign=ai-phone-surveys-hindi-regional-languages-2026)
and use the built-in survey and feedback template as your starting point. Planning a large or
multi-state survey? [Talk to us](https://edesy.in/contact).

## Related reading

- [Post-delivery feedback (NPS) calls with AI](https://edesy.in/blog/post-delivery-feedback-nps-calls-ai-2026)
- [Score every AI call automatically](https://edesy.in/blog/score-every-ai-call-automatically-2026)
- [AI voice calls for NGOs: donors and beneficiaries](https://edesy.in/blog/ngo-donor-beneficiary-ai-calls-2026)
- [AI voice calls for farmers and agri businesses](https://edesy.in/blog/farmer-advisory-agri-input-ai-calls-2026)

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Can an AI voice agent conduct phone surveys in Indian languages?

Yes. An AI voice agent can call respondents in Hindi, Hinglish, Odia, Bengali, Telugu, Tamil, Marathi, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Assamese and other Indian languages, ask each question, understand spoken answers, and record them as structured data you can export to Excel or Google Sheets.

### How many questions should a phone survey have?

Keep it to 3-5 questions and under two minutes. Put the most important question first and use fixed answer options where possible, such as yes/no or a 1-5 scale. Add one open question at the end if you need reasons.

### How are survey answers captured from a voice call?

You define each question as a data field with its allowed answers, for example satisfied, neutral or unsatisfied. After the call, the agent maps what the person said to those options, so a reply like 'haan, theek tha' is stored as satisfied. You also keep the recording and transcript to check any answer.

### How much does an AI phone survey cost per response?

On Edesy, calls cost Rs 4-6 per started minute and unanswered calls are free. A 90-second survey uses 2 billed minutes, so each completed response costs about Rs 8-12, plus the cost of calls that are answered but not completed.

### Is it legal to run phone surveys in India?

Survey calls to your own customers or people who agreed to be contacted are common. Say who is calling and why, state that it is an automated call, keep it short, respect opt-outs and DND preferences, and follow the DPDP Act when you store personal data.