A South Korean telco giant has its own A.I. chatbot — and says it's a 'super app' version of ChatGPT

BARCELONA, Spain — SK Telecom, 1 of South Korea's biggest carriers, is readying to afloat motorboat its ain artificial quality chatbot, but is looking astatine a precise antithetic merchandise from ChatGPT, an enforcement moving connected the task told CNBC.

The institution launched a beta mentation of "A." — pronounced "A dot" — successful South Korea successful May past year. It is based connected generative AI, the exertion down OpenAI's viral ChatGPT.

Eric Davis, vice president astatine SKT who is starring the enactment connected A., said that the institution volition motorboat a afloat mentation successful South Korea this year, adding that this proposition is precise antithetic from ChatGPT.

"It's similar you're chatting with a friend, wherever you're solving issues that you brushwood successful your regular life," Davis told CNBC connected Wednesday astatine the Mobile World Congress successful Barcelona, Spain.

Davis said that SKT has been moving connected A. for a twelvemonth and a half. It is is built in-house astatine the telecoms steadfast connected alleged ample connection models — AI trained connected immense amounts of information to beryllium capable to chat successful earthy language. It is the aforesaid exertion arsenic the 1 down ChatGPT.

But Davis is keen to presumption A. arsenic a precise antithetic merchandise from ChatGPT. That's due to the fact that SKT besides owns assorted services, ranging from euphony streaming to e-commerce and outgo apps, which it is integrating into its chatbot.

"So, largely, the ace app is the extremity representation there. Download our app, and we'll bash fundamentally everything you privation america to bash and more," Davis said.

A "super app" is simply a conception pioneered by Chinese exertion giants, specified arsenic Tencent with its WeChat messaging service. The thought is that a idiosyncratic lone needs 1 app, and that respective third-party services are accessible via that app. In China, WeChat tin beryllium utilized for everything from booking holidays to payments.

Super apps are fashionable successful China and successful parts of Asia, but haven't taken disconnected successful Europe and successful the U.S.

Davis, who antecedently worked connected Apple's dependable adjunct Siri, said that the program is to integrate "a batch much 3rd enactment services" into the A. chatbot.

"ChatGPT is great. You know, it answers your questions, oregon it provides a summary. But it doesn't bash immoderate things we did successful A., "Davis said. "It doesn't link you with services oregon out, it doesn't person immoderate personalization, we marque a conscious effort to larn astir our users."

A. is presently lone disposable successful Korean. Davis said that SKT is successful the aboriginal stages of exploring an planetary motorboat for the service.

"We've been talking to radical successful Europe, of people successful Southeast Asia, section radical that cognize the markets and cognize benignant of what's going to sell. So we've been having talks, but again, nothing's truly finalized," Davis said.

SKT has looked to diversify beyond its halfway telecommunications business. It plans to launch a flying taxi work successful 2025, and CNBC reported this week that the company's AI spot spin-off Sapeon seeks a $400 cardinal valuation.