Naver is enhancing its AI search competitiveness by leveraging its own content ecosystem, including blogs and cafes. As the era of AI summarizing search results unfolds, blogs are becoming a primary source for AI briefings. Naver is expanding its content ecosystem by strengthening support for creators.
According to Naver, approximately 70% of the user-generated content (UGC) cited in AI briefings comes from blogs, cafes, Knowledge iN, and clips. User-generated travel reviews, product experiences, and lifestyle information are key materials for AI responses. This structure, where content production and distribution occur on its own platform, contributes to Naver's AI competitiveness.
External research has also confirmed the influence of Naver blogs. According to the 'Generative AI Source Citation Report for the Second Half of 2026' released by the Appropriate Marketing Research Institute, Naver blogs accounted for 46.5% of the sources cited in Naver's AI briefings.
In contrast, Google's AI cited YouTube and social media at 29.4%, while ChatGPT referenced public institutions and organizations at 18.0%.
The consistency of source citations varied across platforms. The source retention rate, which measures the percentage of times the same source is cited in consecutive responses to the same query, was highest for Naver's AI briefings at 74.5%. Google AI's retention rate was 51.4%, while Gemini's was 36.2%, and ChatGPT's was 16.0%.
The high citation rate of Naver blogs establishes a unique strength in the integration of search and content ecosystems.
Naver is not only utilizing content as an asset for AI search but is also committed to supporting creators. The 'Naver Mate' creator support program provides activity fees and content exposure opportunities for creators active on blogs and cafes. Naver aims to expand monetization opportunities for creators and foster an environment for the continuous production of high-quality content.
Efforts to encourage users to discover blogs and produce content are ongoing. In July, Naver launched the 'Blog Is Here' project, which highlights blogs of lesser-known public figures to promote content diversity and enhance communication among users.
Among individual bloggers, the inclusion of their work in AI responses has become a new point of interest. Previously, metrics such as high search rankings and visitor counts were the main performance indicators, but now bloggers are also considering whether their writings are selected as sources for AI responses. The external service 'NAEO' offers features to check if individual blog posts are cited in Naver's AI briefings and analyzes search exposure and keywords.
Unlike Google, which secures content for AI training through partnerships with platforms like Reddit, Naver focuses on leveraging over 20 years of accumulated content assets within its own ecosystem.
A Naver representative stated, 'Naver is concentrating on responding to queries and long-tail queries specific to Koreans through AI briefings and tabs based on the content accumulated in its ecosystem.'
* This article has been translated by AI.
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