SK Telecom to introduce AI-powered customer service using proprietary Telco LLM and LMM

• SK Telecom launches AI Customer Service Support System, utilising its proprietary Telco large language model (LLM) and large multimodal model (LMM)
• The system will be gradually deployed in customer consultations to enhance efficiency and improve customer service
• AI enhances service efficiency by providing AI Knowledge Search Assistant, Intelligent Document Processing, and Automated Post-Processing System for Consultation Results

SK Telecom (NYSE: SKM) today announced the successful completion of its AI Customer Service Support System beta service, marking a significant milestone in the evolution of its customer service technology. The system, powered by SK Telecom's proprietary telecommunications-specialised large language model (Telco LLM) and large multimodal model (LMM), has been delivering solid results since its mid-October launch.

In a strategic collaboration with leading global LLM companies, SK Telecom has developed a sophisticated AI system specifically tailored for telecommunications applications. The company’s year-long journey involved comprehensive restructuring of its knowledge management system, extensive model optimisation, and the creation of rich training datasets with input from dozens of customer service experts. Through rigorous testing and iterative reinforcement learning, SK Telecom has refined its Telco LLM and LMM to meet the unique demands of telecommunications services.

A key innovation in the system is the implementation of Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG), which significantly enhances response accuracy by retrieving relevant information and leveraging this information in the response generation. The company’s Telco LMM takes this capability further by processing both text and telecommunications-related images, creating a truly comprehensive service solution.

The AI Customer Service Support System introduces three transformative features: the AI Knowledge Search Assistant, Intelligent Document Processing, and the Automated Post-Processing System for Consultation Results.

The AI Knowledge Search Assistant, launched October 21, is a natural language interface that enables agents to instantly access relevant information without manual searching, similar to advanced AI platforms like Perplexity or ChatGPT. The service is being refined through real-world usage and will be fully deployed across all customer service operations in 2025.

Intelligent Document Processing, implemented on October 23, is an LMM-powered system that automatically categorises and processes various customer-submitted documents received through multiple channels. Future updates will introduce automated content analysis capabilities, significantly reducing document verification time.

The Automated Post-Processing System for Consultation Results, scheduled for December release, will automate many tasks, including categorising and summarising consultation outcomes. This automation will reduce the minutes-long post-call documentation process significantly, allowing agents to serve more customers efficiently while maintaining comprehensive consultation records. This enhancement allows agents to serve more customers efficiently while maintaining comprehensive consultation records.

Initial feedback from the month-long beta test has been positive. Agents report exceptional performance from the Telco LLM, particularly noting its ability to streamline information access and reduce workload for newer team members. The automated document classification system has notably improved operational efficiency, allowing agents to focus more on customer interactions.

“Our transformation into an AI contact center represents more than just operational efficiency — it’s about delivering truly personalised, customer-centric service,” said Hong Seung Tae, Vice President and Head of Customer Value Innovation Office at SK Telecom. “Through our Telco LLM-based AI Customer Service Support System, we expect to set new standards in customer service excellence and position ourselves as the industry leader in AI-driven customer support.”