(Web Desk) - TikTok is developing "Genie," its new AI chatbot for Western audience. This news comes after a recent US trademark filing by TikTok. Genie goes beyond just answering questions. Semafor reports that the chatbot will allow users to interact directly within the video stream, providing immediate assistance and potentially unlocking new features.
“In May in the US, the viral video app filed to trademark the name ‘Genie’ for an AI chatbot software that will, among other functions, simulate conversations, facilitate interaction and communication between humans and AI, and produce human-like speech and text,” Semafor stated.
This suggests a more integrated and interactive experience for TikTok users. This comes after the company's initial experiment with a search-focused chatbot called "Tako" in the Philippines. The new chatbot promises to be more advanced, integrating features like TikTok's generative AI search currently available in Douyin (China's TikTok). This search function helps users discover content both inside and outside the app. The updated chatbot is also expected to incorporate other evolving AI features like building virtual live-streamers and potentially even using TikTok's "StreamVoice" system, which can create realistic voices based on short audio samples. AI music generation and text-to-video creation tools being developed by TikTok could also be integrated into the chatbot. Unlike Meta's AI assistant which focuses on text summarization across its platforms, TikTok's approach seems to prioritise helping users discover and utilise the app's various features.
This could lead to a more practical and engaging experience for TikTok users.