LG U+'s AI assistant, ixi-O, is a phishing fighter, chat tracker

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LG U+'s AI assistant, ixi-O, is a phishing fighter, chat tracker

Published: 07 Nov. 2024, 17:22

LEE JAE-LIM
[email protected]

LG U+ CEO Hwang Hyeon-sik introduces the company's AI agent, "ixi-O," at the press event held at the company’s headquarters in Yongsan District, central Seoul. [LG U+]

LG U+ is joining the race to advance AI assistants among domestic mobile carriers with the release of “ixi-O” on Thursday, a service offering users a variety of features to assist in phone calls.

The app — free for LG U+ members on iOS — currently serves four key functions: as an AI agent to answer calls when users are unavailable, real-time transcription of phone conversations, real-time voice phishing detection alerts and call recording with summarization.

Call recording with summarization has already been made available in Korea, gaining positive reviews from iPhone owners using fellow mobile carrier SK Telecom’s A. service.

The telecom company sees its mobile AI agent as the first step in a broader expansion into AI services, with potential to grow into smart home assistants — opening the possibility of integrating its services into LG household products — and business sectors such as AI Contact Centers, which incorporate AI-driven customer support automation, as well as applications in the insurance industry.

The mobile carrier plans to invest up to 500 billion won ($359 million) annually in AI until 2028.

“Phone calls remain an essential form of communication, with usage reaching 300 million to 500 million calls each month,” said LG U+ CEO Hwang Hyeon-sik at a press event held at the company’s headquarters in Yongsan District, central Seoul. “Over the last century, telecommunications have made huge strides, evolving from mail to email and social media, though voice calls have not advanced as quickly. As a telecom company, we understand our customers’ needs in this space better than anyone.”

Each feature has been designed to add convenience for users with a focus on phone calls. If a user cannot take a call, they can have the chatbot answer on their behalf. The AI uses a voice — male or female, or even the voice of a K-pop star like Cha Eun-woo — to ask about the purpose of the call. For the user, they see a brief summarization on their screen explaining the reason for the call.

The real-time transcription service has been developed with the purpose of assisting users in noisy environments who need a text version of the conversation.

The voice phishing alert feature, with AI detecting the crime from phishing data it has been trained on, informs the user with a pop-up screen that reads “this call is suspected to be voice phishing analyzed by AI,” advising the user to hang up and block the caller.

ixi-O’s features are powered by on-device AI using a small language model (SLM) derived from ixi-GEN, an SLM developed from LG AI Research’s proprietary large language model and Google's Gemini, which LG is said to be collaborating with to release more AI services in the future.

The app is currently not available to Android users, but the company aims to release a compatible version by the first quarter of next year at the latest. It’s also only available in Korean.

The company does not have immediate plans to monetize its AI agent or release it globally, stating that it is focusing on perfecting the service.

“We believe that adding value before considering a paid model is the right approach,” Hwang said. “Rushing to monetize could backfire. The same applies globally — and since calling habits vary widely per person, improving the service will require extensive training. […] We think it’s best to establish solid quality domestically before expanding the service.”

BY LEE JAE-LIM [[email protected]]