"Bixby Is Not a Competitor: SKT Integrates AI Voice Assistant into Smartphones (Comprehensive)"

Intelligent Phone Service 'T전화×Nugu' Launch

On the morning of the 12th, during SK Telecom's 'T Phone x Nugu' launch briefing held online, AI Service Division executives, including Lee Hyun-ah, Head of AI Service Division (third from the left), are speaking.

[Asia Economy Reporter Joeslgina] "It is difficult to consider Samsung Bixby as a competitor." "Bixby and Siri are manufacturers' products, and SK Telecom, as a service provider, has a different AI approach."

On the 12th, SK Telecom, which launched the intelligent phone service 'T Phone×NUGU' combining the AI voice assistant 'NUGU' and T Phone, drew a clear line from Samsung Electronics' Bixby and Apple Siri, AI voice assistants applied to existing smartphones. Unlike device manufacturers who approached AI as a complementary feature to hardware, SK Telecom explained that it is promoting so-called 'intelligent telephony' by integrating AI into the main service of 'calling.'

◆ Launch of T Phone×NUGU... Control Smartphone Using Voice Only

At the 'T Phone×NUGU' launch briefing held online on the morning of the 12th, Lee Hyun-ah, head of SK Telecom's AI Service Division, said, "We focused on enabling existing T Phone users to naturally experience AI and use core functions such as calling more conveniently," adding, "We will develop T Phone into a communication-based AI voice platform through the intelligent telephony that combines telecommunications networks and AI."

By embedding the AI voice assistant NUGU into T Phone, SK Telecom made it possible to control the smartphone using only voice without lifting a finger. T Phone is SK Telecom's communication platform that supports automatic call recording, automatic spam call blocking, unknown number search, and international roaming, with a monthly active user (MAU) base of 12 million.

Accordingly, regardless of the mobile carrier, any T Phone user can use voice commands to ▲make and receive calls and texts, video calls ▲search phone numbers via T114 ▲check call and text history ▲answer or reject calls, as well as enjoy over 30 services previously supported by the AI speaker NUGU, such as emergency SOS and meal menu recommendations.

Additionally, SK Telecom introduced 'Today,' which analyzes personal usage patterns, location, weather, and more through AI to recommend various customized content. For example, when greeting T Phone×NUGU with "Good morning," it responds with a morning greeting followed by the date, weather, and major news. Saying "I'm back" triggers a message of appreciation along with the current time and playback of preferred music. Users can also check customized menus and recommended music based on time and location. It is essentially a smartphone version of an 'AI speaker.'

At the briefing, Shin Sang-wook, head of the AI Service Unit, explained, "Although T Phone has a wide coverage of over 10 million users, the nature of calls results in short usage duration. To overcome this, we enhanced user convenience in the main calling function and enabled access to various lifestyle information such as the Today tab. We expect even a one-second increase in usage time." Kim Young-joon, head of the AI Technology Unit, dismissed security concerns related to personalized services by stating, "Personalized information is immediately deleted and not even stored."

However, AI voice assistant functions that allow making and receiving calls, searching contacts, and checking weather information using voice alone are already embedded in devices through Samsung Bixby and Apple Siri. Given that smartphone AI voice assistants have not yet become as active as expected, some analysts predict a competitive landscape between SK Telecom and Samsung Electronics, which has formed an AI alliance with SK Telecom.

In response, Lee Hyun-ah stated, "It is difficult to consider Samsung Bixby as a competitor," emphasizing the different positions of SK Telecom as a service provider and Samsung Electronics as a device manufacturer.

Park Myung-soon, head of the AI Business Unit, also addressed the difference from Bixby and Siri, saying, "(Samsung Bixby and Apple Siri) seem to have approached AI as a complementary feature to hardware," adding, "SK Telecom focuses on services, embedding NUGU in main services such as T Map and IPTV, combining AI with core services." He emphasized, "It is not just a physical combination but an effort to integrate intelligent telephony and lifestyle-related services, which Bixby and Siri have not pursued."

Lee Hyun-ah also mentioned the progress of AI alliances with Samsung Electronics and Kakao, saying, "We are continuously exploring areas where synergy can be created," and "Some have been identified and are currently being implemented."

◆ "Future Expansion to Reservation-Order-Payment" Leap to AI Business Platform

SK Telecom plans to use T Phone×NUGU to provide differentiated services while laying the foundation for transitioning to an AI business platform.

First, within next year, AI services such as convertible calls combining voice and text, and call recording STT will be expanded, with recommendation services, search ads, and coupons updated sequentially. In the first half of 2022, SK Telecom plans to introduce an AI recommendation and search-based reservation-order-payment system to T Phone, completing T Phone×NUGU as a genuine AI business platform.

Regarding the roadmap for expanding the business platform, Lee Hyun-ah explained, "We plan to develop two types: advertising and subscription models," adding, "There is already an advertising area on the T Phone home banner, and we have created a space at the bottom of the Today tab that can be used for marketing or advertising in the future." She added, "We are also considering subscription models, and some convertible call features may be monetized."

Convertible calls literally mean transforming the form of calls. For example, in a quiet library, to answer a call, one had to end the call and contact via text. But in the future, users will be able to send text messages such as voice or text immediately even when a call is incoming.

Partnerships with third parties are essential for advancing as a business platform. Lee Hyun-ah introduced, "We opened the NUGU open platform in 2018 and NUGU SKT last year. Since then, some third-party apps have embedded NUGU and are providing actual services. This is how platform expansion and partnerships are progressing." Park Myung-soon also mentioned partnerships with BBQ and Domino's Pizza in 2016, Starbucks in 2018, saying, "We have gained lessons in this field for about four years and plan to strengthen efforts next year."

On the same day, SK Telecom announced plans to launch the dedicated earset 'NUGU Buds' in November. Using NUGU Buds, users can call T Phone×NUGU by simply wearing or touching the earset without separate smartphone operation. Dreamus Company, which produced iRiver, will handle manufacturing. The price will be announced at the time of release next month and is expected to be set below 100,000 KRW. Park Myung-soon introduced, "It will be the most cost-effective earset in Korea." Although NUGU Buds do not have noise-canceling features, they include ambient sound allowance.

Choi Jae-hoon, head of the AI Computing Unit, introduced the T Phone×NUGU service from three perspectives: ▲providing differentiated services through intelligent telephony ▲enhancing customer convenience and usability ▲laying the foundation for business platform transition, emphasizing, "We will continue to create content that communicates with customers."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.