in Story & News
SKT × Perplexity
Redefining Search Paradigms
With Generative AI
The search market, which has evolved over the past 20 years, has entered a period of dramatic transformation. Traditional keywordbased search methods are fading, giving way to conversational search, and more recently, AI agent1 services—hailed as “the future of AI.” At the heart of this shift are two key players: South Korea’s SK Telecom (SKT), known for its popular AI personal agent service A. (pronounced A dot), and the US-based Perplexity, a leader in conversational AI search services.
Photo Credit SK Telecom
- 1. A type of software that goes beyond merely processing data or providing responses, capable of interpreting user intentions and performing tasks independently without human intervention.
Pioneering the AI Revolution: SKT and Perplexity
SKT, which declared its ambition to become an AI company early on, made history in September 2023 by launching A., the first AI agent service offered by a Korean telecom company. With ongoing feature upgrades, the service has steadily expanded its user base, surpassing 5.5 million subscribers within just over a year of its launch.
Perplexity, a US company offering search services powered by generative AI, operates in more than 50 countries worldwide, handling over 450 million search queries monthly. In April 2024, the company achieved unicorn status with a valuation of $1.04 billion. In May, it ranked first in the Great AI Chatbot Challenge— a usability evaluation of chatbots by The Wall Street Journal—outperforming competitors such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini (Pro version).
Partners in the Global AI Revolution
As two leading players in the AI sector, SKT and Perplexity have joined forces to drive paradigm shifts in the global AI market. In September 2024, SKT held a press conference with Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas, announcing a partnership encompassing mutual investments, joint marketing efforts, and technological support to enhance both A. and Perplexity’s global AI agent services. This collaboration drew particular attention as SKT became the only Korean telecom company to partner with Perplexity.
To refine its A. service, SKT is working with Perplexity to develop an AI search model tailored specifically for the Korean market. Leveraging its indepth understanding of Korea’s internet search environment and culture, SKT provides Korean-language data and cultural content, while Perplexity handles model development.
Through this partnership, SKT offers its customers a unique AI-powered search experience via a promotion that allows them to access Perplexity’s premium subscription service, Perplexity Pro, free for one year on both mobile and PC. Unlike traditional search models that present a list of links, Perplexity delivers quick and clear answers in everyday language by searching the internet in real time. Key features of Perplexity AI search include enhanced response accuracy compared to conventional search engines, advanced search options, file and image analysis, and transparent citation of sources to minimize hallucination2.
Premium features of Perplexity Pro include unlimited advanced searches, access to multiple large language models (LLMs3), and image generation tools.
- 2. A phenomenon where AI-generated information includes false or fabricated content.
- 3. Large language models trained on vast amounts of data through deep learning techniques.
SK Telecom CEO Young-sang Ryu, left, shakes hands with Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas.
Aiming for US Expansion of AI Agents
Experts are turning their attention to AI agent services as they evolve beyond conversational AI. In line with this trend, SKT and Perplexity have expanded their collaboration to include investments in AI-related businesses, services, and technologies. In June 2024, SKT invested $10 million in Perplexity, while Perplexity plans to invest in SKT’s Silicon Valleybased subsidiary, Global AI Platform Corporation (GAP Co.). SKT and GAP Co. are focused on developing and promoting Aster, a global Personal AI Agent (PAA), with Perplexity serving as a key AI agent partner for the project. PAA is a personal agent service that understands users and connects them with the most appropriate services based on their intentions. It employs a multiAI agent strategy, integrating various AI agents for optimal use. SKT aims to launch a beta version of PAA in the US market by 2025 and is actively exploring partnerships with local companies to facilitate this move.