Kakao, the company behind the popular messaging platform KakaoTalk, has announced its plans to launch an AI-integrated messenger app called Kanana. Unveiled at the IF (KakaoAI) 2024 developer conference in Yongin, Gyeonggi, the app is designed to summarize text messages, manage schedules, and suggest entertainment options based on users’ chat histories.
Scheduled for a beta release this year, Kanana will feature a conversational AI agent that remembers the context of discussions to provide tailored responses. It will allow users to summarize key points from group chats upon request and engage in one-on-one conversations with the AI, enhancing the user experience much like interacting with a personal assistant. Kakao aims to officially launch the full service in the first half of 2025 as it strives to compete more effectively in the growing AI market.
Kanana, which symbolizes “the AI most like myself,” combines the creator’s name with “native” to indicate its ability to learn and behave like its users, and “natural,” suggesting an intuitive technology that is easy to use.
The app features two AI characters: “Nana” for individual users and “Kana” for group chats. Nana assists users by reminding them of upcoming appointments, summarizing reading material, and recommending venues, while Kana engages with groups by creating quizzes, grading responses, and discreetly communicating with select members through a “whisper” function.
Kakao’s CEO, Chung Shin-a, emphasized that Kanana aims to provide a highly personalized AI service by understanding diverse conversational contexts. The app is designed to function like a “best friend,” adapting and improving its responses based on previous interactions.
The approach distinguishes Kanana from global AI services like ChatGPT, which mainly focus on one-on-one dialogues. Lee Sang-ho, head of Kakao’s KananaX department, stated that Kanana is set to be the first AI service in the world to operate effectively within group contexts.
Scheduled for internal beta testing this year, Kanana is Kakao’s first business-to-consumer AI initiative. It is separate from KakaoTalk, which dominates the South Korean messaging landscape. The AI agents in Kanana can recall all conversations and comprehend the context of dialogues to deliver highly personalized responses. Like KakaoTalk, Kanana ensures that only invited friends can converse on its platform.
As Kakao transitions to becoming an “AI native company,” it aims to integrate AI deeply into its products and operations.
Kakao’s AI initiatives have struggled to keep pace with rivals like Naver, following its initial foray into the sector through the now-defunct Kakao Brain. Although the subsidiary launched KoGPT, a Korean-language large language model (LLM) based on OpenAI’s GPT-3 in 2021, it failed to achieve significant traction. The planned rollout of the upgraded KoGPT 2.0 has been delayed.
This year, under new leadership from Chung Shin-a, Kakao restructured its management and established a dedicated AI division named Kanana. The division integrated the R&D staff from Kakao Brain to focus on developing advanced AI models and services.
Kakao is currently navigating a tumultuous period, having entered emergency management following the indictment of Kim Beom-soo, the head of the management reform committee, earlier this year.
The company is also under scrutiny from regulatory bodies; the Fair Trade Commission fined Kakao Mobility 72.4 billion won ($52.3 million) for allegedly blocking ride requests.
Additionally, Kakao is under investigation for potentially inflating sales figures, and Kakao Pay faces inquiries from both the Financial Supervisory Service and the Personal Information Protection Commission regarding data breaches. The new Kanana brand will encompass Kakao’s primary AI models and upcoming AI services to revitalize its offerings in this competitive landscape.
