Korean telecom carriers join AI agent race

SK Telecom's AI agent, Aster (SK Telecom)

South Korea’s major telecommunication companies are entering the burgeoning personal artificial intelligence agents market, a domain increasingly dominated by global tech giants. Personal AI agents, autonomous intelligent systems capable of performing specific tasks without human intervention, are seen as the next frontier of technological innovation.

Telecom carriers are leveraging their key mobile-based services to launch AI agent solutions, according to industry sources Tuesday. They aim to extend these services to home appliances such as TVs, refrigerators and speakers, envisioning a future of integrated home AI solutions.

Currently, the AI agents offered by these telecom companies can handle tasks like answering phone calls in the user's absence, providing detailed summaries of conversations and converting call content into real-time text. These agents can also summarize key points of calls, offer real-time English translation and even detect and prevent phishing scams.

SK Telecom’s AI agent, A., launched in September 2023, garnered over 5.5 million subscribers within a year. In October 2023, the company expanded its offerings by integrating AI call features into its existing call platform, T phone, under the A. Phone brand.

Beyond the domestic market, SK Telecom is also eyeing global opportunities. In November, the company unveiled its global AI agent, Aster, at the SK AI Summit 2024, marking its official entry into the international AI market.

SK Telecom plans to launch Aster in the North American market this year, following its debut at the SK Group’s pavilion at CES 2025 in Las Vegas earlier this month.

A promotional image of LG Uplus' AI agent ixi-O (LG Uplus)

In November LG Uplus introduced its AI agent ixi-O, which incorporates LG AI Research’s generative AI model Exaone. The service is built on a small language model, ixi-Gen, and integrates Google’s Gemini AI.

Ixi-O reached 150,000 subscribers by the end of last year. LG Uplus plans to expand ixi-O’s applications to household appliances, including refrigerators, ovens, washing machines and vacuum cleaners.

At the launch event, former CEO Hwang Hyun-sik stressed the need for seamless integration of AI in home IoT systems, saying, “We aim to inspire imagination and make AI an integral part of everyday home life.”

KT Corp. is also developing its AI agent technology in partnership with US tech giant Microsoft. The company announced plans to introduce a consumer-focused AI agent for business-to-consumer applications and integrate high-performance AI agents into its Genie TV platform. It will enable users to access information instantly through conversational interactions while watching TV.

“Our strategic partnership with Microsoft will drive media service advancements and bring AI closer to users’ everyday lives,” a KT official said.

According to market research firm Global Information Inc., the global AI agent market is poised for explosive growth, expanding from $14.8 billion in 2024 to $60.8 billion by 2029.

Delivering a keynote speech at CES 2025, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang underscored the importance of AI agents, calling them the “next robotic industry, with the potential to reach trillions of dollars.” He predicted that AI agents would be the “new digital workforce, capable of assisting or replacing humans in completing tasks.”