On July 2, 2026, LY Corporation held an event to mark the 15th anniversary of its communication app "LINE" and unveiled a batch of features it plans to roll out. The lineup focuses on answering detailed user requests, including editing a message after it has been sent, recording voice and video calls, and an easy new plan priced at 290 yen per month. The company also laid out a new vision built around AI agents.
Four New Features Coming to Talk, Free Early Testing First
The features that drew the most attention are the four additions to the Talk screen that people use every day. All of them will be offered as free early tests in "LINE Lab" starting in August, and then provided officially as perks of the paid "LYP Premium" service from autumn 2026 onward.
The first is message editing. As long as it is within 15 minutes of sending, you can fix a message you have already sent, which helps with typos and similar situations. To prevent trouble, an edited message keeps an "Edited" label.
The second is Premium Block. In addition to the conventional block, it lets you remove your account even from the other person's friend list, quietly disappearing from their side. Born from the earnest wish to put distance between yourself and someone you no longer want to interact with, it can be chosen alongside the conventional block.
The third is scheduled messages. Specify a date and time in advance, and the message is sent automatically at that moment. It is handy for sending a message exactly at midnight on a birthday, or for reaching someone at a set time while avoiding late nights and early mornings.
The fourth is call recording, which lets you record voice and video on LINE calls. Beyond reviewing store reservations or important work exchanges later, it also includes a feature that has AI analyze the recording and save it as transcribed text.
The "Agent i" AI Agent Spreads Across the App
Behind these announcements, LY Corporation set out a new vision called "Life on LINE with AI Agent." The aim is to combine its AI agent "Agent i" to deliver new value woven into users' daily lives. Senior Managing Executive Officer Jun Masuda looked back on the 15 years since the service launched on June 23, 2011, reporting that domestic users surpassed 100 million at the end of last year and that LINE holds top share in Taiwan and Thailand as well, before saying the company will advance to the next stage together with AI.
A symbolic example is "Agent i in Chat," slated for release within the year. You can invite the AI agent into a group chat just like adding a friend, and give it instructions directly with a mention. The AI reads the flow of conversation and takes over tasks such as summarizing "who does what" into a note, and scheduling by automatically registering agreed dates and restaurant details into a calendar. It also adds a feature that sorts the flood of photos shared after an event into multiple albums by judging their content.
The area around the home screen will be revamped as well. The conventional "Home tab" will evolve into a personalized "My Home" that gathers information based on the user's interests, and is scheduled to reach all users this summer. It combines a "My Home Agent" that grasps preferences through dialogue and a "Proposer Agent" that analyzes that data to suggest the most fitting information.
Shopping and Everyday Mini Apps Also Strengthened
In the shopping area, a new "Shopping tab" will be added within the app. Building on the purchasing experience cultivated through "LINE Gift" and others, it links with "Yahoo! Shopping" and "ZOZOTOWN." An AI agent supports everything from finding a product you are curious about to completing the purchase, aiming for an experience where shopping is finished inside LINE without moving to an outside site.
The life-oriented "LINE Mini App" will evolve too. Including mobile ordering and more, over 33,000 mini apps are already offered, and it has grown into a platform used by one in three LINE users. From around August, access to favorites and usage history will improve significantly, and there are plans for a mechanism in which an AI agent searches across multiple mini apps to find a store and handles everything from waitlisting to reservations. In the Talk area, "LINE Calendar" now links with external calendars such as a smartphone's standard calendar, letting you consolidate schedules without opening a separate app.
Starting at 290 Yen a Month With the "Light Plan"
A new option is also being added to the paid "LYP Premium" service. Total membership stands at 25.49 million, of which 6.66 million are direct members, and the company has set a goal of quickly expanding those direct members past 10 million to grow it into Japan's largest subscription service.
The gateway to that is the new "LYP Premium Light Plan," which is easier to start. The first offering, the "Enjoy Pack," costs 290 yen per month and includes four popular perks: unlimited LINE stickers, incoming and ringtone settings for LINE calls, saving videos to albums, and app icon customization. In autumn, a set plan is planned that bundles this Enjoy Pack at the same price as LINE MUSIC.
Summary
At its 15th anniversary milestone, LINE set out a new vision centered on the "Agent i" AI agent and rolled out a wide range of measures, from new Talk features to strengthened shopping and daily life, along with an easy new plan at 290 yen a month. Message editing and call recording will be tested for free from August, and are expected to be offered officially as LYP Premium perks from autumn. It will be worth watching how far this app, now a daily piece of infrastructure, can become more convenient together with AI.
