Non-face-to-face Consultation, Naver and Kakao AI Chatbot Competition

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] As the ‘untact’ culture has expanded due to COVID-19, non-face-to-face customer consultations using artificial intelligence (AI) ‘chatbots’ by companies are also increasing. Accordingly, the competition in the chatbot market between the two major ICT companies, Naver and Kakao, is becoming even fiercer.

◆ Clova Chatbot Gains Attention in the Medical Industry = According to Naver on the 10th, Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance recently launched a mobile AI chatbot service for customers called ‘Ma-eumbot’ using Naver Cloud Platform’s Clova Chatbot service. Ma-eumbot is the first chatbot model in Korea to have an AI chatbot connection icon placed on the Naver mobile search results screen.

Customers can access the chatbot directly within the Naver search results screen without the hassle of moving to Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance’s homepage or app, allowing them to use the service quickly and conveniently. Additionally, Ma-eumbot offers various tasks and consultation services such as insurance contract inquiry, premium payment, insurance claim, direct automobile insurance subscription, and branch location guidance, available anytime as needed.

The prototype model of Ma-eumbot, ‘Clova Chatbot,’ is a conversational AI that understands the user’s question intent and continues the conversation with appropriate answers. It is characterized by providing an environment where services can be operated easily and efficiently, with strengths including excellent Korean natural language processing, easy creation and operation, fluent response technology, support for various channels and platforms, and multilingual support.

In particular, Clova Chatbot’s use in the medical field stands out. Samsung Seoul Hospital introduced Clova Chatbot last year to improve work efficiency. To provide patients with faster and more accurate answers, the conversation is designed so that patients select the body part currently being treated at the start of the consultation. For example, when a patient undergoing stomach cancer treatment starts a chatbot consultation, they select the ‘stomach’ category and then ask their questions, allowing them to receive much more appropriate and prompt guidance compared to answers related to other treatment areas.

Clova Chatbot technology is also applied to ‘MediAir,’ an AI-based voice service introduced by medical chatbot specialist startup Wezzer. MediAir is a service that responds to customer phone inquiries to hospitals using voice AI, handling customer inquiries about hospital business hours, parking, location, consultation hours, as well as customer center tasks such as appointment registration, changes, and cancellations.

In this process, Clova’s natural voice recognition and synthesis, and natural language processing technologies are utilized. When the customer’s voice is recognized, Clova Speech technology converts the voice into text and delivers it to the chatbot. The chatbot finds the optimal answer through natural language analysis and provides it in natural voice through Clova Voice technology.

◆ Kakao i Connect Talk Shines in Public IT Infrastructure = While Naver has Clova Chatbot, Kakao offers ‘Kakao i Connect Talk,’ an AI-based customer response platform that combines KakaoTalk channels and chatbots. Its strength lies in requiring no separate system construction or app development. Previously, the ‘on-premise’ model, where each company developed and built customer centers directly on their own servers, was dominant, but using cloud-based services like Kakao i Connect Talk enables rapid adoption and efficient operation.

Kyobo Life Insurance, which signed a business agreement with Kakao Enterprise in April last year, provides customized information to customers through the ‘KakaoTalk Channel’ and operates customer services such as promotion and marketing using KakaoTalk Channel friends, as well as product subscription, inquiry, and changes. Currently, about 2,000 people per day consult through Kyobo Life Insurance’s chatbot, which is more than four times the previous system. Faster processing via KakaoTalk has also reduced the transfer rate to human agents. The accuracy of recognizing user requests exceeds 95%, and user satisfaction is presumed to have increased accordingly.

In addition, last year, Kakao signed a business agreement with Samsung C&T Resort Division to build a system where Everland ticket issuance and food and beverage order payments can be handled via chatbot, and also signed agreements with Samchully and SK E&S to support chatbot handling of frequently used tasks such as moving-in, safety inspections, and moving-out.

Kakao i Connect Talk is also extending its reach into the public sector, including year-end tax settlement, tax payment, and military service. In November last year, Kakao i Connect Talk passed the ‘Digital Service Specialized Contract System’ review committee. This system allows demand institutions to directly select and contract the services they need.

Currently, public institutions provide service usage methods and guidance in FAQ form using KakaoTalk channels. They help resolve processes such as civil complaint reception, consultation, payment, and settlement in a one-stop manner. For example, users can check delivery status with commands like ‘Check my parcel’ or ‘Check registered mail number’ on KakaoTalk. For tax services, users can receive customized responses such as ‘You must pay by 00 date’ via KakaoTalk messages by asking questions like ‘Tell me how to file comprehensive income tax’ on KakaoTalk.