Samsung teases a generative AI overhaul for its virtual assistant Bixby

The Galaxy S24 Plus
(Image credit: Derrek Lee / Android Central)

What you need to know

  • A Samsung executive teased there are generative AI features on the horizon for its assistant Bixby, inspired by ChatGPT's capabilities.
  • It was stated that Samsung needs to "redefine" what Bixby is about due to the emergence of LLM and generative AI.
  • The company did not give a timeframe or what to expect, but it stated that Samsung is "working so hard" to make it happen.

A Samsung executive has teased that there's more generative AI on the horizon for its assistant Bixby.

According to CNBC, a Samsung executive told the publication that the company is interested in bringing more generative AI power to Bixby. It seems as though Samsung is looking hard at OpenAI's ChatGPT as the inspiration behind what's to come to Bixby.

Won-joon Choi, executive vice president of Samsung’s mobile business said, "with the emergence of generative AI and LLM (large language model) technology, I believe that we have to redefine the role of the Bixby, so that Bixby could be equipped with generative AI and become more smarter in the future."

Choi added this new AI software would help users engage in more "natural conversations" with Bixby moving forward. Samsung reiterates the importance of Bixby, stating it is a "key voice assistant" across its Galaxy phones, TVs, and digital appliances.

In terms of what to expect, Won-joon Choi did not explicitly state what sort of features are on the way. Choi states Samsung is "working so hard" to make things happen. As the publication notes, ChatGPT can help users draft pieces of text, generate images, and offer video responses to queries.

A graphic showing the various Galaxy AI features users can launch, hands-free, with Bixby.

(Image credit: Samsung)

Samsung is almost certainly playing catch-up in the generative AI department as ChatGPT and Google's Gemini have cemented their place. Gemini is Google's most powerful LLM and it's been busy bringing it to its entire Pixel 8 series, as of late.

But Samsung isn't starting from zero, as the company brought some AI enhancements to its old chatbot, courtesy of Galaxy AI. In February, the company announced the rollout of several Galaxy AI features such as Live Translate, Spelling Correction, Webpage Summaries, and more for Bixby. The announcement stated the purpose was to enable "easy and seamless" usability for Samsung's AI features.

Now, users with a Galaxy S24 series device can leverage Galaxy AI influence hands-free with their voices.

Most recently, Samsung rolled out its One UI 6.1 update for a few eligible past-gen devices, which included Galaxy AI features.

Nickolas Diaz
News Writer

Nickolas is always excited about tech and getting his hands on it. Writing for him can vary from delivering the latest tech story to scribbling in his journal. When Nickolas isn't hitting a story, he's often grinding away at a game or chilling with a book in his hand.