Kakao Opens Closed Beta for Its Flagship AI Mate, Kanana

Kakao has begun a closed beta test (CBT) for Kanana, the AI assistant it positions as the centerpiece of its AI-native product strategy. Users can join the trial by downloading the app from the App Store or Google Play, with participation granted on a first-come, first-served basis in the order of registration.

Unlike an open beta that anyone can join, the CBT limits access to a select group of users so the company can test features and stability before a full commercial launch. Because Kanana is a new type of service, Kakao said it will gather user feedback throughout the trial and push updates roughly every three weeks to refine the technology before the official version arrives.

Kakao describes Kanana as an "AI mate" built to help users inside both one-on-one and group conversations. The service reads the context of a chat and responds accordingly, and it grows more personalized the more a person uses it. That approach separates Kanana from assistants that operate only in solo, one-on-one exchanges.

The service centers on two mates. A personal mate called Nana works in both individual and group chats and remembers user details to tailor its answers. A group mate named Kana operates across all of a user's group rooms, handling tasks such as summarizing conversations and arranging meeting dates and locations for clubs, projects, families or friends.

Kakao offered a running club as an example: if members discuss an upcoming marathon, Kana can register the event, send reminders, suggest new routes and periodically share updates. A "whisper mode" also lets users start a private chat with Nana inside a group room, useful for catching up on missed messages or asking follow-up questions. During setup, users can pick a mate's tone and personality, from "like a friend" to "like an expert."

"Our goal is to make communication among people more natural and meaningful through AI," Kakao Kanana Product Lead Kim Jong-han said, adding that feedback during the CBT would guide improvements to a service designed to evolve with use.

Kanana is one piece of a broader AI push. Kakao plans to release additional services this year, including vertical mates for shopping and local search and a generative AI search tool, while deepening a technical collaboration with OpenAI to build an AI agent spanning its wider ecosystem.