KADOKAWA and Hatena Jointly Develop AI Novel Editor RIKU
KADOKAWA and Hatena announced the joint development of RIKU, an AI-powered novel writing support service, and opened applications for a closed beta test. The application period runs until 23:59 on Monday, August 17, and is open to people aged 18 and over who are writing novels or want to write in the future. RIKU is designed not to have generative AI write the work itself, but to support the author through dialogue, helping with character and worldview construction, idea organization, and proofreading and editing. The service operates under the theme "You write the story. A partner by your side," positioning the AI as a companion that listens and helps organize thoughts, while the user remains the main entity writing the story and text. Works created or input by users on the service will not be used for AI learning, addressing concerns about training data. The development combines KADOKAWA's editorial expertise, gained through dialogue with authors, with Hatena's experience in user-generated content services like Hatena Blog. The two companies previously collaborated on the web novel site Kakuyomu since 2016. The closed beta test will be available on Windows, Mac, smartphones, and tablets, and a free Google account is required to apply.