Global tech firms race to make voice AI the primary interface

Global technology companies are racing to transform voice into a primary AI interface, with South Korean carriers and platform firms advancing localized Korean-language services alongside automotive and home deployments, The Korea Times reported Thursday.

The contest spans automotive, home entertainment and enterprise services. The global speech recognition market is forecast to climb from $23.7 billion this year to $104 billion by 2034 — a 20.3 percent compound annual growth rate — according to Fortune Business Insights data cited by The Korea Times.

Google has introduced Gemini Intelligence, an AI system that handles multistep voice-driven tasks including restaurant reservations, online shopping and food delivery, The Korea Times reported. Apple is preparing to unveil a substantially upgraded Siri capable of operating as an AI agent at its upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference. In January 2026, Apple acquired Q.ai, an Israeli startup specializing in silent speech recognition through facial-muscle analysis, for approximately $2 billion — the company's second-largest acquisition on record, according to The Korea Times. Microsoft and Meta have also embedded voice capabilities into their respective AI agent initiatives, the outlet reported.

South Korean carriers are advancing their own localized voice AI platforms in parallel. SK Telecom has integrated its A.auto voice system — powered by the company's A.X 4.0 Korean-language AI — into the Renault Korea Filante vehicle model. KT is targeting the home entertainment segment through a Genie TV AI agent, according to The Korea Times.

LG Uplus is extending its ixi-O voice service, which parses conversational tone and emotional cues to provide call transcription, summarization and voice phishing detection. The Korea Times reported the company plans to bring the service to Malaysia through a partnership with carrier Maxis later this year.

Kakao has released Kanana-O, a multimodal model that processes text, voice and images, achieving the highest benchmark scores among domestic Korean models in its size class, The Korea Times reported. Naver has launched an AI Tab search feature for premium subscribers and intends to integrate Smart Lens for visual search, moving the platform toward full multimodal capability.

Korean companies are emphasizing models optimized for Korean-language nuances, regional slang and conversational patterns as they compete against global platforms, according to The Korea Times. The broader industry shift — from simple voice commands toward contextual understanding and multistep task execution — is seen as especially significant in hands-free environments such as vehicles.

The developments come as major platforms converge on voice as a differentiating AI interface. For Korean-American communities — including those in Orange County with ties to Korean-language digital services — the localization advances could meaningfully expand access to AI tools that understand Korean conversational nuance.