Kakao plans to officially launch 'Mudou-ui AI' within this year. The goal is to secure 5 million monthly active users (MAU). It also plans to gradually provide a "one person, one agent" service starting next year, where users can define their desired role and working style through conversation.
Kakao announced these plans at the developer conference 'if KAKAO 26,' held on the 14th at the Kakao AI Campus in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. Mudou-ui AI is a project to create an AI service accessible to all citizens, overseen by the Ministry of Science and ICT. Three operators—SK Telecom, KT, and Kakao—formed a consortium and were selected as the project operators. It is reported that the Ministry of Science and ICT plans to conduct a private inspection of the beta services of the three companies participating in Mudou-ui AI on the 16th.
Kakao envisions launching a service that connects the entire process, from the moment a conversation begins to when necessary tasks are completed, by combining its user touchpoint through KakaoTalk, large-scale service operation experience, domestic AI technology, and the expertise of participating companies. In particular, Kakao is developing an "easy-to-use service" that can assist users who are unfamiliar with AI or do not know what questions to ask, simply by having them describe their situation.
Mudou-ui AI is a separate service accessible via KakaoTalk or directly through a web interface. It aims for an open ecosystem where other companies and developers can participate with specialized agents and tools. Yoo Yong-ha, Kakao's Performance Leader overseeing the product within the consortium, stated, "We are trying to make maximum use of the familiarity of KakaoTalk, which users utilize daily," adding, "There is no need to know which tool to use from the start or to formulate requests into perfect sentences."
For example, if a user asks, "Is there an exhibition suitable for going with my child?" detailed conditions such as dates, travel distance, and accompanying persons are naturally determined as the conversation continues. Additionally, Kakao pursues completeness by reflecting changed conditions during the conversation to facilitate access to necessary services. It is possible to find an exhibition to visit with a child, then search for nearby restaurants, compare candidates while adjusting conditions such as travel distance, and proceed to a reservation. There is no need to repeatedly explain previously set schedules or headcounts, and users can review conditions and costs before making a reservation.
Kakao currently has a cooperation framework with a total of 34 companies and institutional investors, including 15 consortium members and 19 alliance partners. Kakao manages the service based on its user experience know-how, while LG Uplus is responsible for model and efficient GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) operation. The LG AI Research Institute provides Exaone model capabilities.
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