SK Telecom, Perplexity prep US personal AI agent launch

• SK Telecom has developed a close relationship with GenAI search engine specialist Perplexity
• The US startup’s technology is already embedded in SK Telecom’s personal AI assistant application in South Korea
• Now the companies are collaborating on a launch in the US

SK Telecom and Perplexity, the San Francisco-based generative AI (GenAI)-enabled conversational search engine developer in which the South Korean telco invested in June, are to invest in the development of personal AI agent/assistant (PAA) and AI search applications that target international users as well as the South Korean market, with the beta launch of PAA for the US market planned “within the year,” the partners announced during a press conference held in Seoul on Wednesday. 

SK Telecom already has experience in the PAA sector as its A. (Adot) personal AI agent has been available to users in its home market since 2022. Adot has already attracted 5 million users – up from 3.2 million at the end of 2023 – and at the end of August was revamped to include Perplexity’s AI search engine alongside the application’s existing integrated large language model (LLM) tools, such as ChatGPT, Claude and AdotX.  

Next, SK Telecom is to work with Perplexity on the development of an AI search engine optimised for the South Korean market: The telco will provide Korean language data and cultural content, while “Perplexity will be in charge of fine-tuning the search engine and will work on enhancing the AI ​​search service, with search optimised for the domestic internet search environment and culture,” noted SK Telecom in this announcement (in Korean). 

Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas explained: “The Korean market is attractive because of its fast communication network and infrastructure, and Korean users in particular are familiar with artificial intelligence (AI) services such as Adot. Through this collaboration, we expect that Korean customers will be able to experience an innovative search service that will allow them to converse and search with AI like a person.”

At the same time, SK Telecom is considering how it might monetise Adot’s popularity by “charging for functions and services that customers find sufficiently valuable based on analysis of customer usage patterns, amount of usage, and feedback.”

And there’s more! To cement the relationship, Perplexity is to take a stake in SK Telecom’s Silicon Valley-based subsidiary, Global AI Platform Corp. (Gap Co.), which is focused on the development of PAA applications for international markets. Gap Co. plans to launch an English language version of Adot in beta in the US “within the year”, again with Perplexity as the search engine partner. 

SK Telecom CEO Ryu Young-sang noted: “The collaboration with Perplexity, which has emerged as a dark horse in the global AI search market, will create unprecedented new value. We will strive to provide innovative customer experiences through AI to not only domestic but also global customers.” 

He added: “As the recent rapid development of AI is shaking up the global search market landscape, the investment and service partnership with Perplexity is expected to greatly contribute to SKT securing leadership in the AI ​​ecosystem by enhancing its AI search competitiveness.”

- Ray Le Maistre, Editorial Director, TelecomTV