LG Uplus has introduced the 'ixi-O AI Assistant', a call agent equipped with Google's large language model (LLM) Gemini. This marks the first time the latest Gemini model has been integrated into a smartphone call app in South Korea.

On the 13th, LG Uplus held a press conference at Centropolis in Jongno-gu, Seoul, to unveil its next-generation artificial intelligence (AI) strategy, which includes this development. The ixi-O AI Assistant was developed using Google's latest LLM model, 'Gemini 2.5 Flash Live'.

The ixi-O AI Assistant is characterized by its ability to understand the context of conversations in real-time and provide necessary information immediately during calls. When an ixi-O user says "Hey, ixi" or presses the call button during a conversation, the AI joins the call to find and deliver the required information instantly. For example, if a user is planning a weekend hike with a friend and asks, "Hey ixi, will it rain this weekend?" the AI searches for the weather and informs them via voice. Even if the call recipient is not an LG Uplus user, they can hear the AI search results through voice. This reduces the inconvenience of having to end the call or leave the screen to check the weather, stock prices, exchange rates, maps, etc., especially when driving or carrying items.

Lee Sang-yeob, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of LG Uplus, explained, "Using existing LLMs, the process of AI calling, searching, and providing information took more than 8 seconds, but by applying a world-first 'voice-to-voice' model, we reduced it to 3 seconds."

To ensure users can use the ixi-O AI Assistant with peace of mind, privacy protection features have also been enhanced. The ixi-O AI Assistant applies on-device-based speech recognition (STT) technology, ensuring that call content is not transmitted to the server before activation, and only the spoken content after activation is used for AI searches.

LG Uplus plans to operate a beta service until the end of this year, with an official launch scheduled for the first half of next year.

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