Kakao Corp., the giant behind the South Korean messenger app Kakao Talk, has unveiled a new AI service Kanana at the annual developers conference dubbed “if kakaoAI 2024.”

“Kakao’s key competitive advantage lies in connecting relationships. We aim to offer hyper-personalized AI services that consider individuals’ context and emotions in various relationships and conversations,” said Kakao Chief Executive Chung Shin-a during a keynote speech.

Kakao aims to make Kanana not just a conversational AI service but also a user’s closest friend, stated Chung. To achieve this, the company has created two AI characters — Nana and Kana — and referred to them as “AI mates.”

Chung explained that these respond to users’ questions by remembering key information within the context of conversations on the Kanana service.

Nana delivers a personalized user experience by remembering conversations with users themselves and within group chats. It also comprehends documents in various formats, allowing for summaries and discussions.

In addition, Kana operates solely based on group chats. It can go further to quiz users on papers read together in study group chats, provide scoring, and offer additional explanations. This AI character offers suggestions tailored to the user’s context.

Catering to the K-pop culture, the company has kept a provision for users to enable a function that allows texts from Nana and Kana to be voiced by K-pop idols signed to Kakao Entertainment.

Lee Sang-ho, Head of Kanana X, said: “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.”

Moreover, Kanana will include a hands-free mode, enabling users to check messages and respond to conversations using voice commands.

Kakao has revealed plans to release a test version of Kanana within the company by the end of 2024, before its public launch.