Diwali Call Volume Rising? Here's How AI Voice Covers It in Hindi and Regional Languages

Diwali brings a sharp rise in support and sales calls for Indian and Middle Eastern businesses. All volumes can triple or more, but most teams can’t hire and train people fast enough to handle the extra demand.  

Wati's Astra AI Agent, an AI voice and chat agent built for WhatsApp, is designed to absorb that spike: it answers calls, understands customer queries in Hindi and other regional languages, resolves common requests, and hands off complex issues to a human. 

This guide covers how Astra's Voice AI works, which languages it supports, how WhatsApp Calling recovers stalled checkouts, how calls are recorded and transcribed, and how to set up and measure a voice agent before Diwali 2026.

Why does Diwali Call Volume Spike So Sharply?

According to a Financial Express report on Diwali 2025 trade, e-commerce order volumes grew 24% year over year, while GMV increased 23%. Business Standard reported that the broader retail market saw a similar surge, with Diwali 2025 trade reaching ₹6.05 lakh crore, up 25% from the previous year, per data cited by CAIT.

More orders mean more customer questions about delivery, returns, payments, discounts, and order status. During Diwali, these queries can quickly put pressure on support teams that are already handling higher demand.

There isn't a reliable industry-wide figure for Diwali call volume specifically. But the sharp rise in orders and festive spending shows why brands need to prepare for more customer conversations across voice and messaging channels.

What is Voice AI on WhatsApp?

Voice AI on WhatsApp lets an AI agent handle customer calls instead of routing every call to a human. With Wati, this is powered by Astra AI Agent, which can handle both text and voice conversations, understand customer intent, answer questions, take actions, and hand conversations to a human when needed.

During Diwali, this helps teams handle more calls without adding more headcount. Astra AI Agent can take care of routine queries such as order status, delivery updates, and return questions, while human agents focus on conversations that need their attention. For sales teams, it can also handle customer conversations, qualify prospects, and move them toward a purchase, similar to an AI voice sales rep.

It can also answer in multiple languages and switch languages during a conversation, making it easier to serve customers who prefer one language over another. 

Which Languages are Supported?

Astra AI Agent supports text and voice in 30+ languages, including Hindi, Tamil, Spanish, Arabic, English, Portuguese, Cantonese, Afrikaans, Indonesian, Malay, Japanese, Norwegian, Polish, Thai, Dutch, Bulgarian, and more. 

The agent also supports multilingual voice AI with native code-switching, meaning it can follow a customer who mixes languages mid-sentence and respond in the same conversation without requiring them to select a new language.

For example, a customer asks about a Diwali gift hamper in a mix of Hindi and English. Astra AI Agent can follow the language switch and respond naturally without breaking the conversation.

Native code-switching is especially useful during Diwali, when demand extends beyond major cities. Businesses can support customers in their preferred language using the same support and lead-qualification flows they already use in English, without building a separate workflow for each language.

Can You Give Your AI Voice Agent a Branded, Human-Sounding Voice?

A generic AI voice can sound like just another automated line. Astra Voice AI lets businesses create a custom voice for their agent by uploading a clean audio sample or recording directly in the browser. You can preview the voice before assigning it to the agent, with the clone capturing the accent and speaking style from the sample, including Hindi and regional accents.

A cloned brand voice can be especially useful during Diwali. A voice that sounds familiar to your brand. It also gives businesses running festive campaigns across regions one recognizable voice across different languages, without needing a separate voice actor for each market.

How does WhatsApp Calling Turn a Stalled Chat into a Closed Sale?

WhatsApp Calling lets teams call customers directly from the same WhatsApp thread, without a separate dialer or losing the conversation history. This is useful when a high-value order stalls during checkout, and a quick call can help close the sale.

How it works:

• Calls run inbound and outbound from the same thread the chat happened in, once enabled in Team Inbox Settings.
• Teams can also make and receive calls through the Wati mobile app, so they can stay connected while away from their desks.
• Inbound calls, outbound calls, and the queue of "call-ready" contacts (anyone who has already granted permission) sync in real time between web and mobile. Recording, transcription, and CRM sync currently apply only to web calls; mobile call recording isn't live yet.

How are WhatsApp Calls Recorded, Transcribed, and Synced to Your CRM?

Every WhatsApp call handled by a human agent, including calls that Astra escalates from voice AI, can be recorded, transcribed, and summarized in 57 languages once the setting is enabled. (Astra's own AI-handled call turns are covered by its standard conversation logging, not this recording feature.         

The summary and transcript log straight into HubSpot or Zoho CRM within a couple of minutes, without any manual note-taking required from the agent who handled the call.

For a support team handling queries during Diwali, this keeps the full customer history in one place. If a customer follows up the next day, the support agent can see what was discussed on the call and continue the conversation without making the customer repeat themselves.

How do You Deploy a Regional Voice Agent Before Diwali?

Two Wati features can help you set up and test a regional-language voice agent before Diwali:

• Astra Vibe (no-code builder): Describe the agent’s goal in plain English, such as qualifying bulk Diwali gifting leads, collecting email and order quantity, and handing complex requests to a human. Astra can build the agent from those instructions.
• Evals (testing): Test the agent with automatically generated scenarios, including common requests and edge cases, to catch issues before the festive rush.

How do You Measure Voice AI Performance During the Diwali Spike?

Track performance throughout the festive period so you can fix issues while demand is still high.

If escalation flags climb on a specific query type mid-week, tighten the knowledge base or add a guardrail for that case immediately, rather than waiting for a post-season review.

Conclusion

Diwali brings more calls, more customer questions, and more pressure on support teams. AI voice on WhatsApp can help you handle that demand without adding headcount. 

Astra AI Agent can support customers in 30+ languages without a separate hire for each market, while WhatsApp Calling lets teams follow up on high-value conversations directly from the same thread. Calls can also be recorded, transcribed, and synced with your CRM.

Set it up before the festive rush so your team is ready when call volumes rise.

Ready to handle this Diwali's call volume without adding headcount? 

Book a demo with Wati and see Astra's multilingual voice agent live on your own WhatsApp number.