Soul App is Leading the Charge in AI-Driven Social Networking for Gen Z

                                                           (Che Bin, Soul’s Vice President and Product Lead)

Soul App, a leading social networking platform, has been at the forefront of exploring AIGC applications. Given the platform’s commitment to innovation through the use of AI, the Soul team was invited to participate in the recently held ChinaJoy AIGC Conference.

Che Bin, who is the Vice President and Product Leader of Soul App was asked to deliver a keynote address at the event and offer a glimpse into the company’s vision for the future of AI-powered social interactions.

Artificial Intelligence Generated Content (AIGC) has undoubtedly emerged as a transformative force. Its applications span various industries, from art and design to customer service and education and others. However, the one sector that has witnessed significant disruption due to the integration of this groundbreaking technology is social networking.

In China, Soul, which enjoys tremendous popularity among Zoomers, was one of the first social platforms to realize how AIGC technology can be used not just to enhance but to transform user experience.

While discussing the transformative potential of AIGC, Che Bin said that the technology is powerful enough to reshape social networking as the world knows it. He went on to explain that by leveraging AI, social platforms can create more engaging and emotionally resonant experiences for their users.

For instance, when leveraging AI on the platform, the Soul App team aims to create more meaningful and personalized connections between users. Che Bin said that one of the reasons for Soul’s early adoption of AIGC technology was its acute understanding of the evolving needs of its users.

The platform conducted extensive research to identify emerging trends among younger generations. This analysis revealed that Zoomers are keen on deeper emotional connections, and they are enthusiastic about befriending AI characters. Another discovery was that to keep Gen Z glued; it was important to harness the power of AIGC technology for more than just regular interactions.

In fact, Soul App’s current approach to AI is all about creating what Che Bin calls the “AHA moment.” This is the point where users truly experience the value of a product or service. In the context of social networking, the “AHA moment” occurs when users feel a genuine connection with others or with the AI-integrated application itself.

To achieve this effect, Soul App has invested heavily in developing in-house AI models. Soul X, which is the company’s large language model, and their voice large model are together used to power a range of applications on the platform, such as:

1. Personalized AI Companions: An anthropomorphic chatbot called AI Goudan that offers companionship, advice, and support, and the newly introduced Echoverse allows users to create their own AI characters that can be customized to suit individual preferences.
2. AI-Generated Content: AIGC-powered platform features that create personalized content, such as tailored recommendations and even AI-generated art.
3. AI-Driven Moderation: App safety and privacy features that help to maintain a positive and welcoming environment by detecting and preventing harmful content and behaviors.

Although Soul uses AIGC technology in a myriad of ways to enhance app features, central to the social platform’s AI strategy is a three-pronged framework. For the Soul App team, the integration of AIGC can be viewed from these perspectives: People, the technology itself, and the environment. This unique framework guides all AI-related development initiatives and ensures that AI is used to enhance, rather than replace, human connection.

For example, Soul App understands that the core of any social network is its users, and at the heart of the platform are user requirements. So, Soul places great emphasis on understanding user needs, preferences, and behaviors, which helps the Soul team tailor AI experiences to provide maximum value and engagement.

As far as the technology itself is concerned, the aim is to design AI capabilities to complement human interaction. This involves offering intelligent assistance, personalized recommendations, and emotional support. To this end, Soul App’s programmers constantly hone the abilities of the platform’s AI models to better understand and respond to user needs.

Finally, when it comes to the environment, Soul recognizes the importance of creating a safe, inclusive, and engaging AI environment that is not limited to mere chat interactions. So, the Soul App team is exploring various ways in which the platform’s AI models can be made to possess multimodal capabilities.

Moreover, the platform has already blended artificial intelligence with gamification through the platform’s gaming scenario Werewolf Awakening. This allows users to play with and against AI gamebots that are just as capable as human players in handling various aspects of the gameplay.

As Che Bin explained, social platforms need to use AIGC technology to reconstruct social fields and to reshape social experiences so that people and AI can create memories together. Now, it goes without saying that to achieve this level of synchronization, AI models will need to be developed with a robust emotional quotient (EQ).

In fact, Che Bin went so far as to suggest that the models of today are doing just fine when it comes to general intelligence, so the need of the hour now is to build models that have the same level of EQ as their IQ and maybe even more.

The end word is that the commercial value of AIGC lies in five aspects: efficiency, UGC creation, emotional value, diverse interaction, and scenario expansion when the technology is applied to social scenarios. As far as Soul is concerned, Che Bin clarified that the platform has seen clear commercial value in efficiency and UGC creation. Hence, now the Soul App team is hard at work trying to explore emotional value, diverse interaction, and scenario expansion through AIGC technology.