IRCTC Chatbot Ask Disha – Ask Disha in Hindi – Ask Disha – Ask Disha Chatbot
IRCTC Chatbot Ask Disha – Ask Disha in Hindi – Ask Disha – Ask Disha Chatbot
Online Chatbot ‘ASK DISHA’ upgraded to converse with Railway customers in Hindi language
Artificial Intelligence based ASK DISHA chatbot is developed to resolve queries of railway passengers over the internet pertaining to various services offered by IRCTC
In order to resolve queries of railway passengers over the internet pertaining to various services offered, Indian Railways had introduced the services of Artificial Intelligence based ASK DISHA chatbot in October 2018 for the benefit of the users of the ticketing website www.irctc.co.in and tourism website www.irctctourism.com of its PSU, Indian Railways Catering & Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC).
The ASK DISHA Chatbot was initially launched in English language but in order to further enhance the customer services rendered and to further strengthen the services of the chatbot, IRCTC has now powered voice enabled ASK DISHA to converse with customers in Hindi language also in the e-ticketing site www.irctc.co.in. The customers can now ask queries to ASK DISHA in Hindi language by voice as well as text.
On an average, around three thousand enquiries are being handled by ASK DISHA in Hindi language on daily basis and the figure is increasing day by day which also shows the acceptability of the new feature by the customer. IRCTC plans to launch ASK DISHA in more languages along with many other additional features in the near future.
The chatbot is a special computer programme designed to simulate conversation with users, especially over the internet. The first-of-its-kind initiative by IRCTC is aimed at facilitating accessibility by answering users’ queries pertaining to various services offered to railway passengers. Since its initial launch, more than 150 million passengers have been benefited by ASKDISHA with 10 billion interactions for seeking help on reservation of tickets, cancellation, enquiry of refund status, fare, PNR search, train running status, enquiry about retiring rooms and tourism products.
IRCTC’s AskDISHA Chatbot now provides Live Refund Status Information
IRCTC’s AskDISHA Chatbot now provides Live Refund Status Information
IRCTC is the first PSU to introduce the services of Artificial Intelligence based ASKDISHA chatbot in October, 2018 with an effort to further enhance the user experience of its 5.2 crore customers visiting its ticketing website www.irctc.co.in and tourism website www.irctctourism.com for booking of rail and airline tickets and tourism products.
The chatbot is a special computer programme designed to simulate conversation with users, especially over the internet. AskDISHA has been answering in Hindi as well as English to the queries of users on reservation of tickets, cancellation, enquiry of refund status, fare, PNR search, train running status, enquiry about retiring rooms and tourism products without the need for human agent intervention. To further ease out the interaction between the customers and chatbot, AskDISHA has now been programmed to understand ‘Hinglish’ , a mix of Hindi and English during conversation.
IRCTC has recently upgraded its AskDISHA chatbot with the capability to reply live queries from users related to rail ticket refunds arising out of cancellation, TDR filing and failed transactions as theses constitute around 50% of the total queries of the customers. The users can now either key in or verbally communicate their PNR or Transaction details to AskDISHA and get their ticket refund status immediately.
Through this newly added feature of AskDISHA, IRCTC plans to minimize the time and efforts of its customers in getting refund related information as the users can now get the required information by direct interaction with the chatbot without the need to call 139-Rail Madad enquiry number or logging in to their user accounts.
Within less than two years of its launch, more than 178 million users have availed the services of AskDISHA. About 5 million users have asked refund specific queries since its introduction in the month of Apr,2020. The overall response of the customers towards the services of AskDISHA has been very encouraging with 92% positive feedbacks while the accuracy of the chatbot in understanding and communicating with the customers has been a whooping 95%.
AskDISHA chatbot has been developed by IRCTC in collaboration with a Bengaluru based Start-Up providing AI based digital interaction assistants. IRCTC’s AskDisha Chatbot has been conferred with Asia Leadership Award for ‘Innovation Using Technology’ in November, 2025
visiting its ticketing website www.irctc.co.in and tourism website www.irctctourism.com for booking of rail and airline tickets and tourism products.
Here’s a detailed overview of IRCTC’s “Ask DISHA” chatbot, now also known as Ask DISHA 2.0, available in Hindi, English, Hinglish, with both text and voice support on IRCTC’s website and mobile app:
Contents
🧠 What Is Ask DISHA?
- Ask DISHA stands for Digital Interaction To Seek Help Anytime, introduced by IRCTC in 2018 as an AI-based assistant for ticketing and customer support. Initially available only in English, it now supports Hindi and Hinglish via voice and text on IRCTC’s e‑ticketing portal and the IRCTC Rail Connect app.
🔧 Key Features of Ask DISHA 2.0
Available via text or voice, Ask DISHA 2.0 handles:
- Booking tickets (even without IRCTC password)—OTP-based
- Checking PNR status and booking history
- Cancelling tickets and tracking refund status
- Changing boarding station or retrieving e-tickets and ERS documents
- Quick retry on failed payment transactions within 15 minutes
🎙 How It Works in Hindi
- You can interact using voice command (Microphone icon) in Hindi, English, or Hinglish—no password required.
- Simply ask questions like “PNR status”, “Book a ticket Delhi to Kolkata”, “Cancel my ticket”, etc., and follow prompts.
✅ Advantages
- No IRCTC password needed—just your mobile number and OTP to authenticate
- Multi-lingual support for broader accessibility
- 24×7 availability, including for voice-based actions like metrics and filing TDRs
- Capable of handling booking, cancellations, refunds, boarding changes, etc., all via conversational UI
⚠️ Known Issues & Criticisms
- Reddit users report a few problems:
Some users claim “book only if confirmed” isn’t honored for Tatkal tickets. They say DISHA auto-books waitlisted tickets even when the user chose otherwise.
- Some users note extra charges (~₹10 + GST) apply when booking via the chatbot compared to standard fare booking.
- Early feedback revealed UI quirks and missing features that caused customer concerns. However, these have been mitigated in newer updates.
🧾 Summary Table
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Platforms Available | IRCTC website & Rail Connect app |
| Languages Supported | Hindi, English, Hinglish (Voice + Text) |
| Login Method | Mobile + OTP (no password needed) |
| Core Functions | Book tickets, PNR, cancel, refund, boarding change, e-ticket |
| Known Issues | Tatkal waitlist booking bugs, ₹10 extra fee, sporadic UI glitches |
💡 Tips for Best Use
- Access Ask DISHA via the IRCTC site/app—look for its logo or microphone icon.
- Use voice mode with clear commands, especially when booking or canceling tickets.
- If booking Tatkal, avoid the “book only if confirmed” option for now due to reported bugs—consider booking manually or monitoring status.
- If you prefer low service cost and better control, fall back to the traditional IRCTC booking interface.
📍 Want to Do More?
I can help with:
- Voice commands to process actions like cancellation, PNR check, refunds
- Testing the chatbot with sample booking or cancellation flows
- Comparing Ask DISHA vs manual booking workflows
Would you like to try a quick demo command or troubleshoot any issue?