Users will be able to chat with artificial intelligence (AI) directly in KakaoTalk chat rooms without switching to a separate application. An organic combination of KakaoTalk, the country’s main messenger app, and global generative AI is expected to further accelerate the use of AI in people’s daily lives.

Kakao said on June 16 it will introduce a "ChatGPT chatbot" feature that can be used during conversations in KakaoTalk chat rooms.

The newly introduced ChatGPT chatbot can be used freely in group chat rooms with family, friends or acquaintances, as well as in one-on-one chats. Users can select the chatbot from the menu at the top right of a chat room to add it, then mention the ChatGPT chatbot with the '@' symbol in the message input field and write the desired prompt. Users can also call it easily by pressing a button shown in the keyboard toolbar at the bottom of the input field.

For example, typing "@ChatGPT tell me today’s weather" in a chat room prompts the AI to provide an immediate answer. Prompt input is currently available only in text, but it supports text answers as well as an image generation function.

Kakao also placed representative commands such as news, fortunes and popular questions at the top to improve convenience. When answering, it mentions the questioner directly to enable clear communication even in rooms with multiple people. Further conversation can be continued via the "See more" option at the bottom of the speech bubble, which links to the "ChatGPT for Kakao" service.

Kakao has steadily expanded its daily AI ecosystem since introducing ChatGPT for Kakao through cooperation with OpenAI in October last year. The service has been well received, surpassing 11 million cumulative subscribers as of May.

Along with the introduction of the chatbot function, Kakao made a range of usability updates through the latest version of KakaoTalk (v.26.5.0). It applied a floating message input field at the bottom of the screen, support for original styling for markdown-format documents, a channel coupon collection view sorted by discount amount, and a new Gamechip tab dedicated to HTML5 games playable without installation.

Yoo Yong-ha (유용하), performance leader for Kakao AI Connect, said the chatbot function has made it easier and more useful for users to use AI while chatting on KakaoTalk. He said the organic combination of KakaoTalk and AI will drive the popularisation of AI in everyday life.