Kakao’s AI service Kanana aims for ‘next KakaoTalk’

South Korean IT giant Kakao on Tuesday unveiled its new conversational artificial intelligence service Kanana at the annual developers conference dubbed "if kakaoAI 2024."

“Kakao’s key competitive advantage lies in connecting relationships and in the era of generative AI. We aim to offer hyper-personalized AI services that consider individuals’ context and emotions in various relationships and conversations,” CEO Chung Shin-a said in her keynote speech at the event held earlier in the day in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province.

Chung said Kakao aims to make Kanana more than just a conversational AI service but a user's closest friend. To this end, it implemented two AI characters, Nana and Kana, and referred to them as “AI mates.” The CEO explained that they provide responses to users’ inquiries by remembering key information within the context of conversations on the Kanana service.

Nana remembers both conversations with users themselves and group chats, providing a personalized experience. For example, it remembers conference schedules and materials discussed in group chats and sends personal messages to ensure users do not forget. It also understands documents in various formats, allowing for summaries and discussions.

Kana operates solely based on group chats. It can quiz users on papers read together in study group chats, provide scoring and offer additional explanations. In a conversation between couples, it can propose date schedules or locations through a whisper function. Rather than giving the same results to everyone, it offers suggestions tailored to the user's context.

“Just as KakaoTalk became a widely used and convenient service in the mobile era, we hope that Kanana will establish itself as the most accessible and useful service in the era of generative AI,” said Lee Sang-ho, head of Kanana X.

Kanana will include a hands-free mode, allowing users to check messages and respond to conversations using voice commands without using their hands, especially in situations like driving a vehicle.

Kakao said it plans to release a test version of Kanana within the company by the end of this year before its official launch to the public.

Meanwhile, the company said that about half of the 94 sessions prepared for this year’s conference will focus on AI technology.

On the second day, Kakao Chief Technology Officer Jung Gue-don and Kim Byung-hak, head of Kanana Alpha, will deliver their keynote speeches, while Ty McKercher, vice president of worldwide developer relations at Nvidia, will present the company's partnership in Kakao's Kanana service.

On the final day, chief technology officers from Kakao and its affiliates will gather for a panel discussion to introduce their respective AI technologies and share their insights, the company said.