Bengaluru, Sept. 21 -- One morning in Bhopal, 52-year-old garment shop owner Ramesh Yadav unfolded a local Hindi newspaper to find a rather unusual notice from Madhya Pradesh Madhya Kshetra Vidyut Vitaran Company Ltd, a power distribution firm. The notice had a QR code and a number advertised as a new way to pay his electricity bill-through WhatsApp.

Yadav, already comfortable with UPI, scanned the code, which opened WhatsApp on his phone and presented him with a menu of options. Within minutes, he cleared his dues. Now with WhatsApp's voice features, he doesn't even bother with menus. He presses the green mic and says in Bundeli, "Bijli ka bill bharno hai." An AI bot powered by conversational-AI platform Gupshup replies with a payment l...