Naver Fights Back with AI-Powered Search as Google Gains Ground
SEOUL, June 12 - South Korea's search leader Naver is doubling down on artificial intelligence to defend its home turf as Google and Microsoft chip away at its once-dominant market position.
At a press briefing Thursday, Naver unveiled plans for an "AI Tab" launching in 2026 that will let users complete complex tasks through conversation rather than traditional keyword searches. Think booking a Jeju Island trip for a family with a 5-year-old - all handled by AI agents that recommend places, map routes, and make reservations in one flow.
The push builds on Naver's AI Briefing service, launched in March, which now handles searches with AI-generated summaries across news, shopping, and local information. The results are encouraging: exposure has tripled, "more" button clicks hit 50%, and related question clicks jumped 3.4 times.
Naver plans to expand AI Briefing to 20% of all searches by year-end, up from current levels, while adding specialized content for finance and healthcare.
The AI offensive comes as Naver faces its toughest competition in years. Its search share dropped to 58.85% as of June 11, while Google climbed to 33.02% - a significant narrowing from previous gaps.
Microsoft's Bing, powered by ChatGPT integration, has doubled its Korean market share to 3%, with mobile app usage jumping sevenfold. The "search war" has intensified as younger Koreans increasingly turn to YouTube and social platforms for information.
"Google and Microsoft are competing fiercely for Korean and global search markets. We take this seriously," a Naver spokesperson said.
Naver's secret weapon is HyperCLOVA X, its large language model trained on vastly more Korean data than competitors - 6,500 times more than GPT-4. The company claims a 75% winning rate against GPT-3.5 and 72% reduction in Korean-language AI errors.
"As one of the few global search companies with full control over both infrastructure and content, Naver is uniquely positioned to redefine AI search for Korean users," said Kim Sang-bum, head of AI search.
Recognizing that content creators power its platform, Naver announced an "AI Highlights Project" to badge AI-cited content and drive traffic back to original sources. The initiative aims to ensure creators benefit from AI-generated summaries rather than lose audience.
The company has invested 1 trillion won ($756 million) in AI over five years, consistently allocating 22% of operating profits to R&D.
While some predicted AI chatbots would kill traditional search, Naver executives dismiss such claims. They point to Google's continued global dominance with 92.7 billion monthly visits compared to ChatGPT's 4.5 billion.
Instead, Naver sees AI as enhancing search rather than replacing it - particularly in Korea where local context, language nuances, and cultural understanding remain crucial competitive advantages.
The AI Tab's 2026 launch will test whether Naver's localized AI approach can maintain its Korean search leadership against increasingly sophisticated global rivals.
