The development of 'AI for All', an artificial intelligence (AI) service available to all citizens for free, has begun.
Three consortia—SK Telecom, KT, and Kakao—announced the development and diffusion of AI chatbots and agent services that prioritize “Demand,” “Convenience,” and “Connection” as their core values, aiming to differentiate themselves from foreign offerings and gain widespread adoption.
Kakao will provide the AI for All service centered on KakaoTalk. This decision aims to support the most convenient AI service without requiring separate installations. Through its platform used by 49 million people, Kakao will support connections with various AI agent services.
Kakao promised a “1 person, N agents” capability that allows anyone to combine and create desired agents tailored to their needs. To enhance public accessibility, Kakao will enable users to utilize voice- and phone-based AI in partnership with LG Uplus Corp.
“We will transform many people's daily lives through AI and integrate it into their daily habits,” said Shina Chung, CEO of Kakao. “Going beyond simple answers, we will provide necessary experiences across finance, education, care, medical care, and tax services, continuously expanding them.”
KT Corp. plans to develop a “bidirectional connection agent” so that all domestic services can be used on the AI for All platform in plug-in forms. On the Daum portal, KT will offer hyper-personalized search based on AI mode, provide accurate information and insights based on real-time data from platforms like Danawa and Zigbang, and supply 3D models from NC AI. It will also develop 12 types of essential services for citizens, including entrepreneurship and public education.
“We will ensure that the best-built AI reaches even offline sites so that no one is left behind and all citizens can use it,” said Park Yoon-young, CEO of KT. “By connecting and resolving answers tailored to real life, and through a token factory consolidating KT's capabilities, we will elevate the quality of citizens' lives with AI that guarantees cost-efficiency and security.”
SK Telecom Co., Ltd. is pursuing customized AI agent services tailored to the life stages of citizens. This strategy considers the varying usage purposes and needs across diverse segments, including 7.8 million young adults, 6.5 million small business owners, 22 million office workers, and 11 million digitally vulnerable individuals. The company's own A. (A-Dot), which has secured over 10 million users, and the Liner AI search service serve as central pillars.
“We will provide independent AI services aligned with the living habits of our citizens and societal systems,” emphasized Jung Jae-hun, CEO of SK Telecom. Specialized services will be implemented for each group: education, employment, and housing for youth; tax, accounting, and customer management for small business owners; finance, payment, and reservations for office workers; and health, welfare, and medical services for vulnerable populations.
These consortia plan to launch beta services focused on AI chatbots by October. Considering initial service stability, they will conduct closed beta testing with a selected user panel. Based on feedback, they intend to refine the services and officially launch them in December. The three consortia set a target to reach 5 million monthly active users (MAU) this year.
The Ministry of Science and ICT plans to inject a total budget of 250,000,000,000 KRW (based on the government proposal) into the AI for All project next year. This includes 30,000,000,000 KRW in operating expenses (10,000,000,000 KRW per consortium), 170,000,000,000 KRW to support 2,000 B200 Graphics Processing Units (GPUs), and 50,000,000,000 KRW dedicated to spreading AI agents across public and other sectors. GPU support and expansion funding will be allocated differentially based on operational performance.
