Korea to provide free AI agents for all citizens through messenger, texts

Korea will launch free agentic artificial intelligence (AI) services for all citizens by the end of the year, allowing users to have AI agents that carry out real-world tasks such as reservations and payments through mobile messengers, phone calls and text messages. The Ministry of Science and ICT and the operators of the “AI for All” project held a press briefing on Friday and outlined their service plans. The programs will enter beta testing next month before their official launch later this year. The three operators are consortiums each led by telecom operators SK Telecom and KT, along with mobile messenger firm Kakao. “Our ultimate goal is to have new homegrown AI services blend naturally into people’s daily lives,” Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT Bae Kyung-hoon said. “What matters most is how easily people can access the services, how often they use the services and how much the services actually help in everyday life.” A consortium led by Kakao will team up with LG Group, using KakaoTalk messenger as the entry point for its AI service. Based on