On the 8th, CBT for the general public of Canana will be launched, · · officially released this year. “Aim to expand the stay time by 20% by adding the KakaoTalk discovery tab.”
![CEO Jung Shin-ah of Kakao introduces the new AI service 'Kana' at the Kakao Developer Conference 'If Kakao' held in October 2024. [Picture = Kakao]](https://wimg.mk.co.kr/news/cms/202505/08/news-p.v1.20241226.89ef5f99960c49cab734eab4fc1b77e4_P1.jpg)
사진 확대 CEO Jung Shin-ah of Kakao introduces the new AI service ‘Kana’ at the Kakao Developer Conference ‘If Kakao’ held in October 2024. [Picture = Kakao]
Kakao will make a new leap forward with AI by officially launching “Kanana,” an interactive artificial intelligence (AI) mate app that provides personalized and customized services, and installing AI services on KakaoTalk earlier this year. To this end, Canana’s closed beta service (CBT) was launched for general users from the 8th.
“Starting with the Kana app, we will introduce the results that Kakao is preparing this year sequentially, including vertical recommendations and generative searches (using AI) in Kakao Talk, and products that are being developed jointly with open AI, creating a foundation for AI to become a growth engine for Kakao,” Kakao CEO Jung-ah said in a conference call on the first-quarter earnings announcement.
Regarding the group’s AI strategy, CEO Chung said, “Kakao’s goal this year is to launch the most popular user-oriented AI service in Korea and establish it as a sustainable business. One of the experiments is the Canana app that releases the beta test version today.”
Canana, which is scheduled to be officially released this year, is an AI mate service app based on ultra-personalization.
Kakao explains that the more users use Canana, the more conversations they have with their personal AI mate “Nana” and group AI mate “Kana,” which can be used to provide optimized answers and daily and business help for their respective situations. Canana can be downloaded and used from major app stores from this day.
Starting with this CBT, we plan to officially launch it after going through an upgrade process to add new functions, CEO Chung said. “AI services that will be applied in KakaoTalk in the future will also use the Canana brand together at the time of official launch.”
In the case of “AI Mate,” which recommends services and products that suit users’ tastes, it announced that it had completed the in-house CBT in the first quarter with the “shopping” function and the “local” function receiving good reviews.
CEO Chung said, “AI Mate Shopping, which is currently only in the form of a Talk channel, will strongly combine with the commerce assets in Kakao Talk in the future to recommend products that fit the situation and context to users,” adding, “In the case of AI Mate Local, it will be linked to Kakao Map to strengthen users’ exploration experience.”
It also unveiled a strategy to grow KakaoTalk into a “super app” that goes beyond simple messengers and enjoys contents together.
CEO Chung said, “We will release the discovery area on the third tab of KakaoTalk in the second half of this year to boost content consumption on the platform,” adding, “The goal is to increase the user’s stay time by 20% by providing short-form videos that are recognized as the most trendy content consumption format to users recently.”
In addition, it will also be equipped with an AI-generated search function through the reorganization of KakaoTalk in the second half of the year.
Regarding the new AI agent being developed with OpenAI, CEO Chung said, “It will not only be a simple question and answer, but it will be a form of performing complex tests across various services within the Kakao ecosystem,” adding, “We are in full-fledged cooperation with OpenAI in the development stage.”
Open AI is in charge of the overall AI model based on the world’s best capabilities and technology, and Kakao aims to develop agent AI that encompasses various consumer target (B2C) services while actively utilizing user experience know-how accumulated for all citizens.
Meanwhile, Kakao announced on the same day that its sales in the first quarter of this year were KRW 1.8637 trillion and its operating profit was KRW 105.4 billion, down 6% and 12%, respectively, from the same period last year. Although TalkBiz sales, such as advertising and commerce, increased 7% during the same period to 553.3 billion won, sales in the content sector fell 16% to 870.7 billion won during the same period, dragging down overall sales.
“From the second quarter of this year, we estimate that year-on-year growth will recover as solid fundamentals in the platform sector offset sluggish content,” said Shin Jong-hwan, Kakao’s chief financial officer.
Regarding the recent sale of affiliates, New CFO said, “It is true that some PE invested in the group are discussing various ways to resolve investment and enhance corporate value, but no specific decision has been made yet.”
When the recent sale of Neptune, a Kakao Games affiliate, is completed, the total number of affiliates will decrease from 115 to 104 as of March, it added.
“The mid- to long-term growth strategy of Kakao Group, which defines Kakao Talk and AI as key pillars for future growth, and focuses on core businesses, is constantly pushing forward,” said CFO Shin.
