ICT firms upgrading AI speakers ahead of Google's entry
A model shows KT's GiGa Genie AI speaker at KT Square in central Seoul, Thursday, ahead of a press conference in which the firm announced new services added to its product. / Courtesy of KT
By Jun Ji-hye
Technology companies here are rushing to upgrade their artificial intelligence (AI) speakers ahead of global tech giant Google's planned entry into the Korean market.
According to industry sources, the state-run National Radio Research Agency approved the Google Home and the Google Home Mini AI speakers in early April.
SK Telecom's NUGU AI speaker
Wireless devices obtain such an approval in general one to two months before their release. This raises expectation that Google's AI speakers will be released here as early as the first half of this year.
The release is expected to deal a huge blow to the Korea's AI speaker market, in which domestic mobile carriers and IT companies have been already engaged in cut-throat competition.
Google Home was first released in the U.S. in 2016, and last year accounted for 31 percent of the market for AI speakers, following Amazon's Echo with 69 percent, according to Consumer Intelligence Research Partners.
“How well Google Home can recognize Korean will be the key to determining competition structure here,” a source said.
In preparation for Google's entry, local firms are concentrating their efforts on enhancing functions and content of their products, while expanding their partnerships with other businesses or institutions.
KT, the nation's biggest fixed-line internet operator and second-largest mobile carrier, has recently formed a partnership with the education company Daekyo and added services for children to its GiGa Genie AI speaker, including a voice-activated audio book function.
Kim Chae-hee, senior vice president who heads KT's AI business unit, said 100 books in a variety of subjects and genres including fairytales, history and science are currently on the service list, noting that the number of books will increase to 600 by the end of the year.
The firm will release augmented reality (AR) content featuring dinosaurs by the end of the month and will also expand its AI-based services for cars and hotels, she said.
Top mobile carrier SK Telecom has formed a partnership with the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) last month to add cultural content to its NUGU speaker. The firm said about 100,000 kinds of content including TV drama series, cultural assets and history will be added to its products within the month.
The nation's top portal operator Naver plans to add shopping and payment functions activated by voice command to its AI speakers within the first half of the year.
LG Uplus, the third largest mobile carrier, has begun building an “AI smart home” with Naver and is also offering English education services by applying the portal’s translation service, called Papago. For such services, the firm is also cooperating with the education company YBM. LG Uplus made its entry into the AI speaker market in December last year, using the Clova platform developed by Naver.