LG Uplus, one of Korea’s three major telecommunications companies, introduced on Thursday its upgraded real-time AI call assistant, ixi-O, powered by Google Cloud’s latest large language model.
The launch marks a new phase in the evolution of personalized voice-based AI services.
“The ixi-O AI assistant integrates Google's cutting-edge LLM, Gemini 2.5 Flash Live,” said Lee Jae-won, executive vice president of consumer company at LG Uplus, during a press briefing held in Seoul. “It is the first time in Korea that this model has been applied to a call application.”
Among the country’s major telecom providers, SK Telecom currently operates an AI-powered call app called "A," while LG U Plus offers ixi-O.
Originally launched in November last year, the ixi-O app features real-time voice-to-text conversion and automatic call summaries. With the latest upgrade, the AI assistant now comprehends conversational context as it unfolds and instantly delivers relevant information — including weather updates, location-based content and web search results — during live calls.
To safeguard user privacy, the service employs on-device speech-to-text processing, ensuring that voice data before user invocation is not transmitted to or stored on external servers.
A key technological advancement of ixi-O is its ultra-low-latency streaming AI engine, which allows the assistant to interpret a user’s intent in real time without interrupting the natural flow of conversation.
The assistant is also backed by Google’s search-grounded response engine, enabling it to generate informed replies by combining generative reasoning with factual data to enhance both precision and trustworthiness, according to the company.
Looking ahead, LG Uplus plans to expand the assistant’s capabilities into an “actionable AI” platform. Through a deepening partnership with Google Cloud, the company aims to empower the assistant to perform direct tasks during phone calls — such as adding calendar events, booking appointments or launching navigation — effectively transforming the AI from a passive responder into an active participant in daily communications.
Karen Teo, vice president of platforms and device partnerships at Google Asia Pacific, highlighted the broader potential of the collaboration, saying: “The collaboration with LG Uplus is a testament to what two companies can achieve when they come together with a single shared vision. It's a partnership that goes beyond one single product for a deep strategic alliance that spans across consumer, enterprise and infrastructure businesses.”
As for global expansion, LG Uplus is in talks with multiple telecom operators across Southeast Asia.
“This is not a one-time implementation but is being developed as a software-as-a-service model, with ongoing negotiations underway,” said Choi Yoon-ho, head of the company’s AI agent promotion group.
The ixi-O AI assistant will initially launch as a beta service for select users, with full-scale commercial deployment scheduled for the first quarter.
yeeun@heraldcorp.com
