[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics is expanding its voice assistant service Bixby into around 200 nations, the tech firm said on Aug. 22.
 
Bixby, which was launched in Korean in May and English in July, is an artificial intelligence-powered digital assistant available for Samsung’s new flagship smartphones Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus. Users can interact with Bixby by pressing a power button on the left side of the devices or simply say “Hi Bixby.”

“We are expanding the Bixby service into the global markets to make the voice assistant learn through more mobile devices and provide more customized services based on the learning,” said Rhee In-jong, Samsung’s executive vice president. 

Samsung said Bixby can carry out multiple tasks via user’s voice. By simply saying “Good night,” -- or any saved words -- a user can make the device turn on “Do not disturb mode,” set an alarm and use blue light filters simultaneously. 

The Korean Bixby service is currently used by 1.3 million users and has carried out more than 250 million tasks through voice control, Samsung said.

By Shin Ji-hye/The Korea Herald (shinjh@heraldcorp.com)