# Digital Butler Services Messaging App Line's New Offering is Their First Endeavor Outside of Japan By Alyson Wyers | Published 2016-02-04 | Tech Source: Trend Hunter, https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/digital-butler References: [techcrunch](http://techcrunch.com/2016/02/01/asian-messaging-app-firm-line-is-developing-a-digital-butler-service/?ncid=rss) The on-demand service industry is a quickly emerging one, giving many new startups a shot, whether they focus on [food delivery](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/zesty-app) or digital butler assistance. Existing [messaging app](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/aidriven-messaging-platform) Line, which is known for its adorable sticker animations, is diversifying by offering a [digital butler service](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/fasttrackr-ai). This follows other recent ventures from the Japan-based and Korean-owned company, including on-demand taxis, in-app payments and music and video streaming. Scheduled to launch this month in Thailand, Line app's new offering is the first to come out of their new Bangkok-based research and development team. With an active monthly user base of 215 million, Line is pursuing a number of ways to monetize. The R&D branch in particular is tasked with creating apps and services for local markets in Asia. ## Trend Insights (Trend Hunter) - Score: 1.6/10 - Popularity: 31% | Activity: 8% | Freshness: 8% - Audience gender: 50% men, 50% women - Primary generations: Millennial - Top markets: Asia ## Categories [Trend Hunter](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends) > [Tech](https://www.trendhunter.com/tech) > [Mobile](https://www.trendhunter.com/mobile) ## Key Themes ### What's Driving This Trend - **Digital Butler Assistance:** Messaging apps can provide a platform for direct access to digital butler services that cater to specific local markets. - **In-app Service Monetization:** Apps with large user bases, like messaging apps, can leverage their popularity to monetize by offering additional on-demand services. - **Expansion of On-demand Services:** The emergence of on-demand services is creating opportunities for tech companies to expand beyond their traditional offerings and diversify their revenue streams. ### Who This Affects Most - **Messaging Apps:** Messaging apps can leverage their existing user bases to offer new on-demand services and diversify their revenue streams. - **On-demand Services:** New on-demand services are emerging, creating opportunities for startups to disrupt traditional industries and for established companies to diversify their offerings. - **Mobile Payment and Banking:** Messaging apps can potentially evolve into mobile payment and banking platforms, and expand their services in this new market. ## Related on Trend Hunter - [All-In-One Asian Super Apps](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/grab-1.md) - [AI Messaging Apps](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/viber-ai.md) - [AI Customer Service Chatbots](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/customer-service-chatbot.md) - [Southeast Asian E-Commerce Chatbots](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/lazada.md) - [Multipurpose Super Apps](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/multipurpose-super-app.md) - [Consumer-to-Consumer NFT Marketplaces](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/line.md) - [AI-Powered Business Discoveries](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/yelp-2.md) - [Custom AI Assistants](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/custom-ai-assistants.md) - [AI-Powered Beauty Discovery Platforms](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/mylondonbeauty.md)