Naver is accelerating its efforts to enhance its artificial intelligence (AI) search competitiveness by expanding its content and creator ecosystem. The company believes that the strength of its AI platform lies in content based on service experience. Naver plans to invest 1 trillion won over the next five years to secure high-quality content and strengthen its creator compensation system.
Having grown as a search portal in the 2000s while fostering a creator ecosystem, Naver sees this ecosystem as a crucial element for sustained growth in the AI era.
On May 28, Naver held a media roundtable at The Plaza Hotel in Seoul, focusing on its data and content strategy for the AI era.
The event featured Kim Kwang-hyun, Chief Data and Content Officer (CDO), Lee Il-koo, head of content services, and Kim Sang-beom, head of the search platform division, who discussed strategies for revitalizing the content and creator ecosystem and enhancing AI search service competitiveness.
Kim Kwang-hyun emphasized that the focus of AI platform competition is shifting from model performance to data quality and service competitiveness.
“As CDO, I will actively engage in the competition by building high-quality data that serves as the foundation for executable agents through our creator ecosystem and external partnerships, connecting this data with AI to provide differentiated user experiences,” he said.
He also highlighted plans to expand non-technical efforts to find high-quality content and creators over the next five years with an investment of 1 trillion won.
“In the AI era, where we must create gaps in data and service experience beyond technology, Naver's unique content ecosystem, built over 25 years, is our strongest asset,” Kim added.
Naver aims to strengthen its competitiveness by making creators its core partners and expanding the AI ecosystem in collaboration with them.
As part of its initiatives to explore the direction of content and creators, Naver is launching a new fellowship program called 'Naver Mate.' This program will highlight approximately 3,000 outstanding creators from user-generated content (UGC) services each month based on AI briefing citation counts, enriching the content ecosystem with expertise and diversity.
Profiles and content of Naver Mate creators will feature an official emblem, making their content more visible across Naver's various services, including integrated search and AI briefings. To encourage the production of high-quality content, Naver will provide activity funds ranging from 300,000 to 10 million won, totaling 20 billion won, based on AI briefing citation counts.
The Naver Mate program will begin next month, targeting creators from blogs, cafes, KnowledgeiN, and premium content, with plans to expand to clip creators in the second half of the year.
Naver intends to operate the program in beta until the end of this year, gradually enhancing it by incorporating AI tab response citations and expanding support targets and scales.
Lee Il-koo stated, “In the AI era, UGC that captures creators' real experiences and insights is a key asset that adds diversity and expertise to AI. We will focus on creating a consensus among all users regarding good creators and content to revitalize the content ecosystem.”
Naver aims to implement an integrated AI agent that seamlessly connects various services beyond AI search, revealing its technological direction and core assets.
Kim Sang-beom identified optimized product-native large language models (LLMs) for service scenarios, a vast dataset of 10 billion records, and harness engineering for stable service operations as key assets. He explained that Naver's experience in building and operating its search ecosystem with proprietary technology is a unique strength. The next-generation Hyperclova X model will also be applied soon.
Naver is enhancing its AI search lineup. According to the company, the AI briefing launched in March last year has been used by 30 million people monthly, providing quick and accurate answers. The AI tab, which entered closed beta in April, has surpassed 3 million users.
Additionally, Naver plans to unveil a new version of Smart Lens by the end of next month, a service that allows users to quickly verify information and take action through camera capture. This is expected to create strong synergy with AI briefings and the AI tab.
Kim Sang-beom noted, “Starting next month, when the AI tab is officially launched, all Naver users will be able to utilize conversational search in both mobile and PC environments. We will implement an agentic AI service that connects search to actual execution based on Naver's unique assets that best understand the daily lives and contexts of Korean users.”
* This article has been translated by AI.
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