Naver to pump 1 trillion won into content to power AI evolution

Naver Chief Data and Contents Officer Kim Kwang-hyun speaks during a media roundtable at the Plaza Hotel in Jung District, central Seoul, on May 28. [NAVER] In the midst of a fierce AI race, Korean internet giant Naver plans to invest 1 trillion won ($665 million) over the next five years in content that will power its AI search engines, ads and recommendations. The company plans to roll out a new rewards program for content creators and expand its AI features to strengthen its platform ecosystem and differentiate its AI search services through creator-generated content and proprietary data, as competition intensifies among global tech companies developing generative AI. Related Article YouTube to begin automatically detecting, labeling photorealistic AI content Naver considers acquiring food delivery app Baemin from Germany's Delivery Hero Social media app Setlog gives young Koreans a real-time, unvarnished glimpse at their friends' lives The initiative will support Naver’s user-generated content (UGC) ecosystem, where around 20 million creators produce 630 million pieces of content each year, according to the company, which unveiled the plan during a media roundtable on its AI-era data and content strategy at a hotel in the Jung District, central Seoul, on Thursday. The move comes as competition among global Big Tech companies in generative AI continues to intensify and the performance rankings for the latest AI models frequently change within just a few months. As it becomes harder for companies to stand out based on AI performance alone, Naver is positioning the quality of creator-generated content and data as a key competitive advantage. “Naver has built its own creator ecosystem since the early days of search engines," said Kim Kwang-hyun, the chief data and content officer at Naver. "We believe [our creator ecosystem] is our biggest asset for sustainable growth in the AI era." The company plans to introduce Naver Mate, a new content creator rewards program, scheduled for launch in June. Through the new program, the company will select around 3,000 outstanding content creators every month across its UGC services, such as blogs and online community forums. Naver headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, on Nov. 5, 2025 [YONHAP] Selection criteria will include how frequently a creator’s content is cited by AI Briefing, Naver’s AI-powered search summary feature. Selected creators will receive greater exposure across major Naver services, such as its integrated search and AI Briefing, along with a monthly budget of at least 300,000 won each. Among those selected, Naver will choose the top 10 creators across 10 categories such as travel, lifestyle and tech for a total of 100 creators who will each receive 3 million won per month. The top-ranked creator in each category will receive 10 million won per month. Naver plans to expand the selection pool to include creators on its short-form video platform Clip in the second half of the year. Naver headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi on Nov. 5,2025 [YONHAP] Naver also plans to expand its AI search services using the vast amount of content accumulated on its platform. The offerings include AI Briefing, the company’s AI-powered search summary feature introduced in March last year and the conversational AI search service AI Tab, which was launched in beta last month. The platform will launch a newly enhanced version of its Smart Lens search service by the end of next month. The service lets users point their camera at an object to instantly access information and take direct action, such as making a payment or reservation. Although Naver continues to post solid earnings, the company faces growing pressure to distinguish itself as global Big Tech firms intensify competition in AI platforms. Naver argues that it is uniquely positioned to offer everything from search and shopping to reservations within a single platform. The key, however, is how effectively the company can deliver a differentiated experience to users throughout that process. “Our goal is to deliver a seamless AI search experience,” said Kim Sang-bum, head of Naver’s search platform division. "Our goal is to provide fully optimized AI search by leveraging product-native large language models that learn from users’ journeys from search to purchase, extensive data tools and ‘harness engineering’ that efficiently manages them.” This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom. BY HONG SANG-JI [lee.jiwon10@joongang.co.kr]