SK Telecom to Launch AI Agent 'Aster' in North America, Showcasing at CES 2025

SK Telecom to launch beta service of AI agent for N. America in March

This photo, provided by SK Telecom, highlights its artificial intelligence agent, aster. SK Telecom said Tuesday it will begin a beta service of its artificial intelligence agent "aster" in March, targeting North American customers. The company opened beta registration for aster during CES 2025, which kicked off Tuesday for a four-day run in Las Vegas. SK Telecom said the North American launch will serve as a test of its AI agent service in the global market. Aster, first released in November 2024, is an advanced AI agent designed to help users organize their daily routines through features like planning, execution, reminders and advice. It operates autonomously as an "agentic AI," capable of making complex decisions and taking actions based on conversational interactions with users. "Unlike other AI agents, which simply provide answers to users' needs, aster takes actions in response to users' requests and plans," SK Telecom said. (Yonhap)

SKT to launch AI agent service in US in March

Chung Suk-geun, head of SK Telecom's global personal artificial intelligence agent business, introduces Aster during a press conference in Las Vegas, Tuesday (local time). Courtesy of SK Telecom Telecommunication firm showcases Aster at CES 2025By Park Jae-hyuk SK Telecom (SKT) introduced its Aster personal artificial intelligence (AI) agent to participants at the CES 2025 tech fair in Las Vegas on Tuesday (local time), with plans for a beta launch in March for North American users. This is the first time for the Korean company to showcase its AI agent in the United States. In November, the telecommunication firm announced its development of Aster during the SK AI Summit 2024 at COEX in Seoul. According to SKT, it has started recruiting users for the beta service through SK Group's exhibition pavilion at CES 2025 and the official website for Aster. The company is considering introducing Aster in other regions next year, following the official launch of the service in North America during the second half of this year. According to SKT, Aster can help its users focus more on what's valuable in their everyday lives through its four functions -- planning, execution, reminders and advice. Even if its user makes an ambiguous or complicated request, the AI agent can induce a smoother conversation to clarify the user's intention and propose feasible plans. "If a person on a business trip in Las Vegas asks about what to do on the final day of the trip, Aster figures out the user's needs by suggesting shopping spots, restaurants or theaters, and draws up a feasible schedule," an SKT official said. "If the user wants to watch a performance, Aster recommends the most suitable show and introduces nearby restaurants and how to get there." For Aster to do various tasks, including reservations and payments, SKT said that it is considering strengthening partnerships with other tech firms, including Perplexity, which offers a generative AI-powered answer engine service. The telecom firm also emphasized that Aster not only responds to requests from users but also makes proposals more actively. "For a user on a business trip in Las Vegas, Aster can suggest the purchase of a souvenir as a gift for the user's daughter, whose birthday is next week," the official said. "Aster is differentiated from other AI services, as it finds out 'answers' through communication between the AI agent and its user."