NAVER, Long Attuned to the Power of Content, to Bring AI Deeper Into Everyday Life by Combining AI Technology with Distinctive Data and Content Capabilities
NAVER, Long Attuned to the Power of Content, to Bring AI Deeper Into Everyday Life by Combining AI Technology with Distinctive Data and Content Capabilities
NAVER CDO Kim Kwang-hyun Sets Out Data and Content Strategy for the AI Era
NAVER, Long Attuned to the Power of Content, to Bring AI Deeper Into Everyday Life by Combining AI Technology with Distinctive Data and Content Capabilities
- NAVER, which has built its own content ecosystem over the past 25 years, to invest KRW 1 trillion over the next five years
- Around 3,000 “NAVER Mate” creators to be announced each month as part of a user-facing project to explore quality content and creators in the AI era
- AI Tab surpasses 3 million cumulative users within one month of closed beta launch, to open to all users in June
- Kim Kwang-hyun, CDO: “Platform competitiveness in the AI era will be determined by technology that discovers quality creators and a user culture that recognizes them”
- Next-generation HyperCLOVA X model to be applied
May 28, 2026
NAVER Corp. (CEO Choi Soo-yeon) hosted a media roundtable titled “NAVER’s Data and Content Strategy in the AI Era” on May 28 at The Plaza Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul. At the event, Kim Kwang-hyun, Chief Data & Contents Officer, Lee Il-goo, Head of Content Services Division, and Kim Sang-bum, Head of Search Platform Division, outlined NAVER’s strategy to strengthen its content and creator ecosystem in the AI era, along with its plans to enhance the competitiveness of its AI search services.
Kim Kwang-hyun, CDO: “Data quality and service experience are the new axes of competition”... NAVER to invest KRW 1 trillion in content ecosystem over five years
Kim Kwang-hyun, CDO, said the focus of AI platform competition is shifting from model performance to data quality and service competitiveness. “As CDO, I will help NAVER compete more boldly by working through our creator ecosystem and external partnerships to build the high-quality data that action-oriented agents depend on. We will connect that data with AI to deliver a differentiated user experience,” he said.
“In the AI era, where companies must create a competitive edge not only in technology but also in data and service experience, NAVER’s independent content ecosystem, built over more than 25 years, is its most powerful and irreplaceable asset,” Kim added. He said NAVER will expand initiatives beyond technology to discover quality content and creators in the AI era, with plans to invest KRW 1 trillion over the next five years.
Building an AI ecosystem with content partners: NAVER Mate to launch a virtuous cycle of creator growth and AI competitiveness
NAVER has grown over the past 25 years under the philosophy that “creator growth is platform growth,” cultivating its own content ecosystem and turning that ecosystem into platform competitiveness. In the AI era, NAVER will continue to position creators as key partners, expanding the AI ecosystem together with them and strengthening its competitiveness.
As one way to explore the direction of quality content and creators in the AI era together with UGC creators, NAVER is launching a new fellowship program called “NAVER Mate.” Each month, NAVER will announce around 3,000 outstanding creators who enrich the content ecosystem across UGC services with expertise and diversity, based on the number of times their content is cited in AI Briefing.
Official emblems will appear on the profiles and content of NAVER Mate creators, creating an environment where their content can be discovered more easily across NAVER services, including integrated search and AI Briefing. To encourage the creation of high-quality content, NAVER will also provide a total of KRW 20 billion in activity support, ranging from KRW 300,000 to KRW 10 million per person, based on AI Briefing citation counts. NAVER Mate will launch in June for creators on Blog, Cafe, Knowledge iN, and Premium Content, and expand to Clip creators in the second half of the year. NAVER will run NAVER Mate as a beta program through the end of this year, then refine it in phases. Planned enhancements include incorporating citations from AI Tab answers and expanding both the range of eligible creators and the scale of support.
“Even in the AI era, UGC grounded in creators’ real experiences and insights remains a core asset, bringing greater diversity and expertise to AI,” said Lee Il-goo, Head of Content Services Division. “With NAVER Mate, we are setting out with creators to define what meaningful UGC should look like in the AI era. We will also focus on service-level initiatives that help more users recognize and value quality creators and content, further strengthening the content ecosystem.”
NAVER’s core assets for moving toward an integrated AI agent: “product-native LLM, data, and service operation capabilities”
NAVER also outlined the technological direction and core assets underpinning its vision for an integrated AI agent that goes beyond AI search to connect NAVER’s services and help users move naturally from search to action. Kim Sang-bum, Head of Search Platform Division, identified three key assets: a product-native LLM optimized for service scenarios, a vast data pool comprising some 10 billion records and API tools, and harness engineering designed to support stable service operations. He emphasized that NAVER’s long experience building and operating its own search ecosystem with proprietary technology gives the company a distinctive competitive edge. He also said the next-generation HyperCLOVA X model will be applied soon.
Based on these core assets, NAVER is advancing its AI search lineup. AI Briefing, launched in March 2025, has established itself as a core NAVER search experience used by 30 million people each month, helping users resolve questions quickly and accurately. AI Tab, launched in beta in April, surpassed 3 million cumulative users within one month and provides deeper exploration through conversational search, along with action-oriented experiences possible only on NAVER.
NAVER also plans to introduce a new version of Smart Lens at the end of June. The service allows users to quickly check information by taking photos with their camera and connect that information to action, and is expected to create strong synergy with AI Briefing and AI Tab.
“Starting in June, when AI Tab officially launches, all NAVER users will be able to use conversational search across both mobile and PC,” said Kim Sang-bum, Head of Search Platform Division. “Based on NAVER’s unique assets, which best understand the daily lives and context of Korean users, we will continue to build agentic AI services that go beyond search and connect users to real action.”
