Tokyo, Japan - Yahoo! Japan, part of LINE Yahoo Corporation, has launched a trial of an AI-powered response feature on its question-and-answer platform, Yahoo! Chiebukuro.
The development, which uses text-generating AI from OpenAI, aims to improve user interaction by addressing unanswered questions that comprise a significant portion of the platform's 54 million annual posts.
Why it matters:
Yahoo's integration of AI into Chiebukuro marks a notable shift in digital platform strategy, reflecting a trend toward using AI to improve the user experience.
This implementation has the potential to revolutionize the way information is shared online, demonstrating the growing importance of AI in digital problem-solving.
The Key Points
- The AI Answers feature, initially available in the Life Advice and History categories, augments user-generated content to reduce the rate of unanswered questions.
- It works on an opt-in basis, allowing users to select AI assistance when posting questions.
- AI answers, generated quickly after a question is submitted, can be selected as a "best answer" alongside user responses.
- Despite its potential, the AI feature remains experimental and may be discontinued, and Yahoo! Japan does not guarantee the accuracy of AI-generated answers.
What They Say:
Yahoo! Japan said the feature aligns with its mission to bring "!" into users' daily lives by enabling greater knowledge sharing on Yahoo!
It sees AI as a way to give questioners more opportunities to find meaningful answers and insights.
What Comes Next:
Based on user feedback and performance data during the trial period, Yahoo! plans to expand the AI Answer feature to additional categories. The experimental feature must be used following Yahoo!'s OpenAI guidelines.
Yahoo! aims to use AI to reduce unanswered questions, which account for about 10% of search queries, and provide faster access to diverse perspectives.
Users can opt-in to the feature when submitting questions. The AI will provide answers after the questions are raised, while humans can still respond afterward.
Yahoo! Japan said it will continue to expand Yahoo! Chiebukuro's capabilities to better serve users seeking solutions or information.
