SK Telecom’s Chief AI Global Officer Chung Suk-geun gives a presentation at the SK AI Summit 2024 held in Seoul on Monday. (SK Telecom)

SK Telecom, South Korea’s largest wireless carrier by membership, on Tuesday unveiled its new artificial intelligence-powered personal assistant Aster for global markets.

Designed as an agentic AI, Aster goes beyond simple question-and-answer or search functions. It engages users in an interactive dialogue to understand their intentions, and make plans and perform tasks on their behalf.

According to the company, the AI agent’s capabilities in planning, task management and quick response are aimed at supporting users with more complex needs, such as booking restaurants, reserving accommodations, or arranging transportation.

Aster is set to enter a closed beta test in North America later this year, with a full market launch targeted for 2025.

"Aster was developed to address common pain points users experience with current AI services, positioning it as a potential solution for users seeking more advanced assistance," said Chung Suk-geun, SK Telecom’s chief AI global officer, during the SK AI Summit held on Monday.

SK Telecom plans to strengthen Aster’s capabilities through partnerships with global search providers, large language model developers and third-party applications, aiming to build a comprehensive AI ecosystem tailored to global users.

"With Aster, users are interacting with a single app, but they’re actually tapping into an extensive AI ecosystem," Chung added.