[Edaily Reporter Kim Hyun-ah ] Kakao(035720)has released a video series to introduce its proprietary omni-modal artificial intelligence (AI) model, “Kanana-o,” to the general public in an accessible way. This move is seen as part of a strategy to highlight the everyday utility of generative AI to the market by focusing on real-world use cases rather than complex technical explanations.

Kakao announced that it has released a video series titled “Kanana Original” featuring this content on its official YouTube channel.

The newly unveiled “Kanana Originals” series is organized around three themes: talk shows, literature, and travel vlogs. Designed to feature guests engaging in natural conversations with Kanana-o while experiencing the AI’s various functions firsthand, the series focuses on lowering the barrier to entry for general users interested in AI technology.

At the heart of the series is Kanana-O, an omnimodal AI model developed independently by Kakao. It can simultaneously recognize text, voice, and images and generate responses in real time. Kakao explains that the model possesses a distinct competitive edge, particularly in its understanding of context specific to the Korean language, natural conversational flow, and rich emotional expression.

It also supports advanced AI technologies, including voice synthesis capable of replicating various speech styles, seamless multi-turn conversations, and the ability to generate podcast-style audio content.

Each episode features famous celebrities such as Noksal, Kwak Beom, Yoo Byung-jae, and Jonathan, who showcase a wide variety of AI use cases. In the first video, “The Best Friends Episode,” rapper Noksal and comedian Kwak Beom engage in everyday conversations with Kanana-O, experiencing various features—such as KakaoTalk reply suggestions, photo analysis, and image captioning—in a game-like format.

The “Literature Edition” features comedian Yoo Byung-jae and editor Kim Min-kyung from Minumsa Publishing. KanaNa-O analyzes a photo of a study to identify reading preferences and demonstrates advanced creative capabilities, such as composing poetry on specific themes, delivering emotional recitations, and suggesting new endings for existing novels.

In the “K-Travel” episode, it explores famous domestic landmarks with TV personality Jonathan, providing historical and cultural information. Based on image recognition and contextual understanding technologies, it delivers personalized information tied to specific locations, proving its potential as a smart travel assistant.

Kakao also plans to actively boost public interest by running interactive events where video viewers can win books and props used in the filming.

A Kakao representative emphasized, “This Kanana Original was designed to allow users to naturally experience how AI can be utilized in their daily lives,” adding, “We will continue to actively promote Kanana’s innovative technology and practicality to the market through a variety of methods.”