2023/03/20 | Written By: Sungmin Park

The performance of 'AskUp', launched by Upstage on KakaoTalk using ChatGPT and OCR (Optical Character Recognition) technology, is extraordinary. The number of channel friends on KakaoTalk exceeded 100,000 within a week, and there are now about 300,000 people who have registered as AskUp's channel friends.

Through the Upstage blog series, we would like to explain the correct use of AskUp alongside its various uses, which, once you are familiar, can be utilized like a mini-encyclopedia anytime, anywhere. If you are curious about AskUp, please visit the Upstage Blog!

Learn about 'AskUp'

AskUp is an artificial intelligence chatbot service developed by Upstage. It was named by combining ‘Ask,’ to ask questions, and our AI company name ‘Upstage.’ In Korea, the alternative nickname ‘Asukup’ is easier to pronounce.

AskUp began when Upstage linked the internal work tools ChatGPT and Slack together,  solving simple tasks and questions. The current AskUp was created by expanding the service to KakaoTalk in hopes that more people would know about and use the convenient technology of AI.

The main feature of AskUp is the so-called ‘Awakened ChatGPT,’ which combines Upstage's OCR technology and ChatGPT so users can discover text in an image by taking or sending a picture.

AskUp's strengths include:

• OCR technology: AskUp accurately recognizes text regardless of font, background, etc. Through this, users can send text documents or even handwritten images to AskUp and receive answers along with translated content. In addition, when asked about various documents such as learning materials, business registration certificates, or contracts,  AskUp summarizes necessary information or processes it as text.

💡 Upstage console advances to use AI OCR in API form: Upstage launched its API service so that companies can now apply the high-performance OCR model used in AskUp. Sign up for a new account at the Upstage console, receive free credits, and experience AskUp’s exceptional service.

• Search function: AskUp incorporates Google search to retrieve and reflect up-to-date information. By typing ‘?’ followed by a prompt in the KakaoTalk channel chatting window, users can check the exact search result for the keyword as well as its source directly in KakaoTalk. (ex. ? Upstage)
  

• Korean Proficiency: AskUp can have natural conversations in Korean through model fine-tuning based on OpenAI's ChatGPT. As AskUp converses through the user's questions, it gradually gains a texting method that fits the user's personality. For example, by typing “recommend me an activity to do on a Spring weekend afternoon,” AskUp will suggest various activities such as outings, picnics, and reading. By saying, “I feel good today,” AskUp will send a congratulatory message.
  
  

• Prompt Tuning: AskUp processes images with OCR through Upstage's prompt tuning know-how. When sending results and messages to ChatGPT, AskUp finds the best answer through questions combining special contexts and prompts.
  
  

In addition, Upstage continues to provide updates for user convenience. For example: improving the response speed of AskUp by more than two times by applying an optimized process, as well as further improving the OCR recognition rate through UpOCR tuning. Please look forward to AskUp’s development in the future!

How to add AskUp in KakaoTalk

Using AskUp is simple. Just add them as a friend on KakaoTalk and start a conversation. Let's find out how to meet AskUp through the search function at the top of KakaoTalk.

• Click the magnifying glass at the top of the KakaoTalk screen.

• Enter “AskUp” in the search bar.

• Add KakaoTalk Plus as a friend by clicking the “Ch +” button on AskUp's profile in the channel category.

• You can now have a Q&A with AskUp in the created chat room.

What you need to know before using AskUp

Have you made friends with AskUp yet? Before having full-scale conversations with users, AskUp presents a guide tutorial. Please click the highlighted button: “📣 Askup, what are you good at?”

<AskUp Myths and Truths>

“AskUp often gives the wrong answers.”
“AskUp doesn’t seem to recognize text in images.”

If you missed the announcements before using AskUp, you may have the same questions. Don't be discouraged if AskUp doesn’t give you a suitable response! By reading about AskUp’s expertise before starting a conversation, you can understand the characteristics of this chatbot and thus use it more efficiently. Shall we take a closer look?

1. Limitations of AI for Events Occuring After 2021

AskUp is a service of Upstage Co., Ltd. and was developed using the latest language model of OpenAI. Currently, AskUp relies on a ChatGPT model trained on data existing up to September 2021, so a question on events occurring after 2021 may provide misleading information.

However, Upstage has added an extension to Askup, allowing users to meet the new GPT4. Type ! to receive an answer from GPT4. (Ex. ! Write a novel outline where Upstage goes to Mars using acrostic order.) Upstage will continue to update its features for the convenience of users.

[ What is 'ChatGPT'?]

Interactive artificial intelligence based on GPT-3.5 and GPT-4. The GPT model is a model that can generate advanced sentences based on learning patterns of words and sentences. Created from ChatGPT, it can hold various types of conversations including questions, answers, and daily conversations. Companies and individuals in the field of chatbots and virtual assistants can use this model as well.

2. Limitation of image recognition containing 1,000+ characters

AskUp combines ChatGPT with Upstage's OCR (Optical Character Recognition) technology. Introduced as the so-called ‘Awakened ChatGPT,’ it is distinguished for recognizing text in images. This OCR function serves many purposes such as extracting and summarizing key information from an image.

However, responses are limited for images exceeding 1,000 characters due to the limit of ChatGPT’s model input values. Therefore, if the text in the image is long, we recommend dividing it into sections.

3. 100 credits per day

We provide 100 credits to our users. For the duration of our “100 Q&A” event period, for the convenience of users, we are setting up the distribution of 100 Q&A credits with AskUp every day. The event has been extended until the end of March, and all users who have friended AskUp and KakaoTalk are eligible, so enjoy a variety of conversations with AskUp!

4. Accuracy of answers and users’ obligations to verify

The answers AI provides may not always be accurate. Since it was trained with data only up to 2021 and is an AI that “creates” rather than imports information, the AI’s answer may not be 100% correct. Furthermore, please note that specific questions about personal information are likely to be inaccurate, and users are responsible for reviewing them for factual accuracy.

5. The need to recognize AskUp service’s volatility and potential inappropriate answers

AskUp is an early service and continuously updates today. Inappropriate answers may pass through Open AI's filter and reach users; please understand this risk before using the service.

AskUp information sharing community

Receive and share stories and tips for AskUp from various community channels. We plan to fill this channel with richer content, so please keep much interest.

[KakaoTalk Open Chat Community]

• AskUp Starter Station: Open chat for learning basic usage

• AskUp Community: Users’ community for various cases

[SNS]

• AskUp Official Instagram: AskUp news, including announcements, how-to guides, events, etc.

Are you ready to converse with KakaoTalk AskUp? Follow up in the next series with a guide on how you can use AskUp smarter.