TikTok has initiated testing for its new in-app AI chatbot named 'Tako'. This advanced feature aims to improve content discovery and user experience on the platform. The chatbot has entered a limited testing phase and is currently available only in select markets.
Tako appears on the right-hand side of the TikTok interface above the users’ profile and can be interacted with to answer questions about a video or provide suggestions for new content to watch. By employing natural language queries, the chatbot encourages user engagement and enhances the app’s overall experience.
Developed through a partnership with an undisclosed third-party AI provider, TikTok has tailored Tako to cater to its platform-specific needs. At its current stage, the chatbot does not include any in-house AI technology from TikTok or its parent company, ByteDance. The AI chatbot is labelled as experimental and comes with a basic disclaimer that its responses may not be 100% accurate.
TikTok stresses that Tako should not be used for seeking medical, legal, or financial advice. Furthermore, it ensures the safety of minors by excluding the chatbot’s accessibility from their accounts. Users have the option to delete their chat history with Tako to enhance their privacy. However, the long-term data retention policies or the privacy aspects of the AI chatbot remain undetermined at this stage.
Apart from enhancing user experience, Tako has the potential to become a novel method for users to discover content on the platform. TikTok’s vision for the chatbot extends to being an alternative to traditional search boxes. This move could potentially threaten Google's search experience, as Gen Z users are known to prefer TikTok and Instagram over Google for topics of interest. Google has plans to roll out its conversational search experience soon, but an in-app AI chatbot like Tako could encourage younger audiences to skip Google altogether.
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