Hong Beom-sik, the president of LG Uplus, has emphasized 'artificial intelligence transformation' (AX) since taking office at the end of last year. However, the core of the AX strategy, 'ixi-O,' is showing low usage after 9 months since its launch. Despite being an artificial intelligence (AI) currency app developed by consolidating capabilities after streamlining 'unprofitable businesses,' only 1 out of 100 LG Uplus subscribers is using it.
According to data analysis solution Mobile Index of IGAworks as of the 21st, the monthly active users (MAU) of the ixi-O app were counted at 165,822 last month. The proportion of customers using ixi-O among LG Uplus subscribers (11,183,47 as of June) is only about 1.5%.
It's not that there is no demand for the AI currency app itself. The MAU of SK Telecom's 'adot' phone app, which offers similar features, was reported to be 14,741,119 last month. About 6 out of 10 SK Telecom mobile subscribers (66.0%) are using 'adot' phone.
◇ Declaration of 'AX corporate transformation' and focus on enhancing ixi-O features
In November last year, LG Uplus declared the 'transformation from a telecommunications company to AX corporations.' At that time, ixi-O was introduced as the key service representing the 'AX strategy.' The company emphasized that it would provide 'differentiated AI services' equipped with features such as ▲answering instead of receiving calls ▲visible calls ▲real-time voice phishing detection ▲call recording and summary functions.
LG Uplus also expressed its ambition to 'create unique value in the currency sector, which is the foundation of telecommunications.' It has developed a strategy to recruit customers through AX services that can change lives rather than solely focusing on AI technology.
The direction of this AI business has strengthened since President Hong took office. After being appointed as the representative of LG Uplus in November last year, Hong stated, 'We will strengthen core technology capabilities based on AX-centered business strategies,' adding that 'we will improve the business structure through resource reallocation by selecting and concentrating existing businesses.'
As a result, changes have occurred that prioritize the phased streamlining of so-called 'money-losing' services such as sports, homeschooling, smart factories, freight brokerage, robots, and the metaverse. This effort to organize 'non-core businesses' is still ongoing. LG Uplus explained, 'It's to choose and concentrate on AX.'
Instead of streamlining non-core businesses, President Hong is concentrating the company's capabilities on ixi-O as the core of the AX strategy. In March, he led the signing of a partnership to integrate Google's AI engine 'Gemini' with ixi-O at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2025 held in Barcelona, Spain. In June, technology called 'Anti-DeepVoice' was added to ixi-O to detect falsified voices.
LG Uplus is also 'genuine' about ixi-O marketing. They selected Cha Eun-woo, a member of the group ASTK and an actor known as the 'face genius,' as the exclusive model for ixi-O. Recently, they conducted a large-scale promotion to encourage ixi-O app downloads.
◇ Average usage time is also one-third of adot phone
Although LG Uplus is pushing ixi-O company-wide, the speed of expansion feels 'slow as a turtle.' ixi-O is an app based on on-device AI (technology that performs AI functions autonomously without internet connectivity). Because of this, optimization work must be carried out for each device upon release. LG Uplus initially touts the call recording feature as the 'killer service' for ixi-O. As a result, they prioritized providing this service only for models released after the iPhone 14 series, making it unavailable on devices like Galaxy and other Android smartphones.
LG Uplus has gradually expanded the usage range so that as of June, ixi-O can be used on models released after the Galaxy S21 and iPhone 12 series. The problem is that even after significantly widening the service availability, usage remains low.
Industry insiders cite the low perceived efficacy of ixi-O's convenience features as the reason for the 'slow turtle-like expansion.' A telecommunications industry official noted, 'LG Uplus emphasizes that ixi-O operates with high security as an 'on-device AI,' but it is difficult for customers to feel its convenience features,' adding that 'ixi-O has low accessibility for customers to the extent that it is evaluated as features prepared from a service provider's perspective.'
The perception that ixi-O is heavy and lacks usability is also reflected in the 'app usage time.' As of July, the average usage time per user for ixi-O was around 127 minutes per month. In comparison to adot phone (373 minutes), this is only about one-third.
◇ 'Security first strategy... will eventually be chosen by customers'
An LG Uplus official explained that regarding the slow spread of ixi-O, 'We adhere to a 'security first' principle, and we believe that eventually, customers will choose our service.' To implement AI functions on-device, devices with certain performance levels are required, which means there are currently limitations on the expansion.
An official from LG Uplus stated, 'ixi-O is achieving a 'stickness' (the ratio of daily users to monthly users) of 80%, which means most users use ixi-O daily, and we regard this as a positive factor.' He also added, 'Recently, about 31% of customers who switched their phone numbers to LG Uplus cited ixi-O as the reason for their transfer, which has received a positive response.'