National Consumer Helpline to roll out AI-based features, partners with 1,000 firms

National Consumer Helpline (NCH) is set to introduce artificial intelligence-based features including speech recognition and multilingual chatbots as part of a major upgrade to its consumer grievance system.

The helpline has also announced partnerships with over 1,000 companies to expedite complaint resolution.

The new AI capabilities, dubbed NCH 2.0, will allow consumers to file complaints through voice input in their local languages, marking a significant technological transformation of the consumer protection platform that currently operates in 17 languages.

The helpline has seen dramatic growth in usage, with monthly calls surging to 141,817 in January 2024 from 14,795 in January 2015. Monthly complaint registrations have tripled to 112,468 in 2024 from 37,062 in 2017.

“These technological upgrades are aimed at making the grievance filing process more seamless, efficient, and inclusive,” the Department of Consumer Affairs said in a statement.

The partnership programme, known as the Convergence Programme, has expanded to include major companies across sectors such as e-commerce, travel, education, and banking. The number of participating companies has grown nearly fourfold from 263 in 2017 to 1,009 currently.

The department has identified several major companies with high grievance numbers, including Delhivery Ltd and Domino’s Pizza, and plans to meet with them next week to discuss bringing them into the partnership programme.

Consumers can access the helpline through multiple channels including a toll-free number (1915), WhatsApp, SMS, email, and a dedicated mobile app. Unresolved complaints can be escalated to the Consumer Commission under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.