AI Basics · Mobile · Kakao

Kanana

“An AI that helps inside KakaoTalk” — a guide who speaks up before you ask

📂 Mobile🆓 Free tier available🇰🇷 Strong Korean support📊 Beginner
WHAT

What is Kanana?

Kanana is Kakao’s AI inside KakaoTalk. It keeps track of schedules mentioned in your chats without being asked, speaks up first when it’s useful, and Kakao says the original chat text is processed on your device.

  • 1Use it inside KakaoTalk, with no new app to install
  • 2It states that chat text is processed on the device
  • 3Only certain phone models are supported
A concierge in her mid-40s wearing a yellow scarf, handing an umbrella to someone at the front desk before they ask
A guide who speaks up before you ask: a character drawn by Nanum Consulting to capture Kanana’s personality.
WHY

What sets it apart

These are the differences we found by running the same material through several tools in our training sessions.

💬

It lives where you already work

There is no step of installing a new app and creating an account. The official guide says you can find Kanana in your KakaoTalk friends list and start using it right away, and to search for it if it is not listed. For people trying AI for the first time, being inside an app you open every day makes the biggest difference.

🔒

Raw chat text never leaves your device

The official guide states that the raw text of your chats with friends is processed only on your device through on-device AI, and is neither sent out nor stored separately. It addresses head-on the first concern people have about AI that handles messenger conversations.

📅

It helps before you ask

When a conversation turns to making plans, it organizes them into a schedule, and when it senses you are looking for a venue, it recommends places nearby. Even people who don’t know how to phrase a question get results first, which suits anyone who finds the very word “prompt” intimidating.

⚖️ The weaknesses are clear, too

Supported devices are limited. The official guide says it works on iPhone 14 Pro or later and Galaxy S22 or later, so a whole team can’t easily use it the same way. It is built to help with daily life, so tasks like writing reports or analyzing data need to go to other tools.

💡 In plain English

It’s like a front-desk attendant in a building. They hand you an umbrella before you ask and remind you of your appointment time.

🏢 Why it matters for organizations

In reality, a large share of workplace communication happens in messengers. When schedules get set right where the conversation is happening, you no longer have to switch to another app just to use AI.

SCENE

Same job, different approach

Picking a team dinner date in a group chat fizzles out

The old way

  1. Scroll up the chat to find who said they were available and when
  2. Ask again to confirm the date options
  3. Everyone searches for venues on their own and drops in a link
  4. Someone has to write up and post what was decided

With Kanana

  1. Date options are sorted out as the conversation unfolds
  2. Tap a confirmed date to add it to your calendar
  3. Get nearby place recommendations on the spot
  4. Fewer summaries to write up and post by hand
USE

Common uses

01

Keeping track of schedules in the team chat

Meeting and team dinner dates that come up in chat are turned into a schedule, so you spend less time digging up settled dates to repost.

02

Find a venue for an off-site meeting

When you need to find a spot near a client’s office, you get recommendations right away. You don’t need to leave the chat and open a separate search app.

03

Give your team a first taste of AI

You can demo AI in a training session without installing a new app. Some participants may have unsupported devices, though, so check their phones beforehand.

FIT

Who it’s for

Best for

  • ✓People whose work conversations happen in a messenger
  • ✓People wary of installing a new app and signing up
  • ✓People with a recent phone model

Better served by other tools

  • –People with older phones
  • –People who want to hand off reports or data analysis
  • –Organizations that need the company to manage accounts
SECURITY

Can we use it at work?

The questions that adoption leads and security teams ask first.

Is what you enter used for training?The official guide states that the text of your conversations with friends is processed only on your device and is neither sent out nor stored separately. Only a summary created on the device is used when Kanana needs to start a conversation.
Business & Team PlansWe could not find a business plan on the official page that lets a company issue accounts and manage records. It is presented as something individuals use in their own messenger.
Whatever you doKeep in mind that personal and work conversations live in the same app. Move any chat involving customer information or contract terms to a company-approved work tool, and leave only content that is safe to share in the messenger.

To confirm: pricing is not listed on the official page, so we could not verify from official wording whether the service is free. Check Kanana’s terms of service for how much of the information summarized on your device is sent to servers, and for how long it is kept.

START

10-minute quick start

  1. 1

    Check the list on the official guide page to see whether your phone is a supported model.

  2. 2

    Find Kanana in your KakaoTalk friends list. If it isn’t there, search for Kanana in the search bar.

  3. 3

    Sign up as instructed, then watch how it helps in a chat room where schedules are being discussed.

  4. 4

    When you need a venue or information, talk to it directly and give it one task at a time.

PROMPT

Copy-and-paste prompts

Replace only the [bracketed] parts, then paste it in.

Ask it to schedule an event
Schedule a [team dinner] for [next Wednesday at 7 PM]. Look for a place [near Gangnam Station] for [8 people], and recommend just three spots with parking.
Narrow Down a Meeting Spot
Find a place near [Samseong Station] that seats [ten people] and where we can [talk quietly]. Budget should be under [KRW 30,000 (≈ US$22)] per person.
Sort Out To-Dos from a Chat
Briefly summarize only what has been decided in this chat. List it in this order: ① confirmed dates ② open items ③ who is doing what.
Plan how to get there
I need to be at [Yeouido HQ] at [10 a.m. tomorrow]. Tell me when to leave [starting point], and warn me in advance if it’s going to rain.
Decode Unfamiliar Terms
In one sentence, explain what [unfamiliar term], which just came up in the chat, means. Also explain how it is used at work.
RECIPE

Using it with other tools

Linking two or three tools changes your work more than any single tool does.

From conversation to document

1Kanana organizes schedules and decisions in the chat room
2Move the summary into Claude and polish it into meeting-minutes format
3Post only the final version to the shared company doc

Plan a get-together in one go

1Narrow down date and venue options with Kanana
2Add the confirmed schedule to your calendar with A.
3Draft the announcement in Wrtn and polish it
CAUTION

Before you start

  • Personal messages and work conversations get mixed in one place. Move conversations involving customer information to a work tool.
  • If your phone is not a supported model, you can’t use it at all. If you don’t check attendees’ devices before the training, half of them will just watch.
  • Proactive features are convenient but can feel intrusive. Configure your notification settings up front.
  • Recommended places and information need fact-checking. Confirm business hours and booking availability yourself.
PRICE

Pricing

For individual use

Use it in KakaoTalkPricing to check first
₩0

The official guide lists no pricing. On a supported device, find it in your KakaoTalk friends list, sign up, and start using it

Checked 21 Sep 2026 · Based on Kakao’s official Kanana guide page. This page has no pricing section, so the stated terms of use are reproduced as written. Pricing can change without notice. Check the official page before paying. Kanana official guide ↗ · Kakao press releases ↗

HONEST

Where Kanana falls short

We don’t just list the positives. Here is what fell short when we used it.

  • If your phone isn’t supported, that’s the end of it

    If your phone isn’t on the list in the official guide, the only option is to sign up for a notification and wait. In a group session, a few participants may not be able to open the screen at all.

  • It leans toward everyday tasks

    It’s quick at handling plans and venues, but for the work that takes up the most time, such as drafting reports or analyzing data, you’ll end up opening another tool. It can’t handle everything in one place.

  • People tend to give up experimenting on their own

    Kanana, which launched as a standalone app, was shut down and folded into the messenger. After a feature you had settled into disappears, it’s hard to build it deeply into your workflow.

COMPARE

Tools to compare

FAQ

The official guide page has no separate pricing section. It only says that if you use a supported device, you find Kanana in your KakaoTalk friends list, sign up, and start using it. We found no instructions requiring a payment step.
A service built to handle Korean-language conversation inside Korea’s leading messenger. The screens and guidance are all in Korean, and its core feature is picking up schedules and places as the conversation flows.
The official guide states that the original text of your conversations is processed only on your device, which makes it one of the clearer explanations among messenger AIs. However, we could not confirm a business plan where the company manages accounts, so move any chat room that involves customer information to a work tool.

Last updated 22 Sep 2026 · The ratings on this page come from John Kim, CEO of Nanum Consulting, who has used these tools firsthand in training and real work.

Putting Kanana to work in your organization

Send us a message and we’ll reply within 24 hours. We’ll propose a curriculum tailored to your industry and job roles.