Major South Korean and international portals have entered the search market, which has been transformed by artificial intelligence (AI) services. Their strategy aims to create an agent-type portal that not only answers search queries but also helps users find personalized information and seamlessly connects them to further exploration and action.
As AI capabilities become a competitive advantage in search, portals are intensely focused on securing high-quality data for differentiated AI search experiences.
Daum to Launch AI Overview, Differentiating With Vertical Search
According to AXZ, the portal Daum plans to officially launch its AI Overview and AI Mode features in July. This strategy aims to evolve Daum into an agent portal based on Upstage’s AI model.
Both features will allow the AI agent to understand natural language queries, interpret keywords and context, and independently combine them to find answers. The AI Overview will provide summarized answers with sources on the search results page, while AI Mode will enable users to explore information in-depth through conversational queries.
These features are similar to the AI search capabilities that Google and Naver introduced earlier. Google first launched its chatbot-style search service AI Overview in 2024 and expanded Gemini in Chrome to Korea in April this year. Following suit, Naver introduced its AI Briefing in March last year, presenting summarized answers with sources, and unveiled a beta version of its conversational search feature, AI Tab, in April this year.
AXZ aims to set itself apart from other search services by offering specialized vertical search closely tied to everyday life, such as shopping and dining.
For example, if a user asks, Find a restaurant with parking in Seongsu-dong, the agent will recommend suitable restaurants by considering location, parking availability, and reviews. To achieve this, AXZ plans to gradually expand functionality through partnerships with specialized companies in various fields.
At a press conference on Tuesday, AXZ Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Lee Geon-soo stated that while the AI Overview itself may not be a unique feature, it’s crucial for AI to accurately answer users’ complex, informational questions. It believes focusing on vertical search is our path to differentiation.
Naver Introduces Clip AI Briefing, Summarizing Searches With Short-Form Content
This service analyzes creators’ clip videos using AI to provide relevant content and key information for search results. It employs AI technologies such as Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR), Optical Character Recognition (OCR), and Vision Language Models (VLM) to summarize video content.
For instance, if a user searches for Korea’s summer heat index, the AI briefing will display clips summarizing the actual heat experience in Korea compared to Africa, along with a text breakdown of the video content.
The service also organizes key video content with timestamps, allowing users to jump directly to specific sections for easy access to the information they need.
Meanwhile, Naver plans to officially launch the AI Tab in June. After about a month since its introduction, the AI Tab has surpassed 3 million monthly active users (MAU) and continues to attract users. Currently available only to Naver Plus subscribers, it will be offered to all users across mobile and personal computer (PC) platforms upon official release.
High-Quality Data, Key to Implementing Integrated AI Agents
The advancement of AI search ultimately depends on data acquisition. To provide a competitive search service, high-quality data for AI training is essential.
Particularly, implementing an integrated agent that completes the process from search to execution requires gathering high-quality content data from various sources.
Upstage’s acquisition of AXZ and the reactivation of various Daum services align with this strategy. Daum has revived its real-time search feature as real-time trends, resumed news service comments, and launched the Daum Community service resembling social media. These efforts aim to increase user engagement and collect valuable activity data.
Naver also launched the beta version of its AI Fellowship program, Naver Mate, on June 4. Each month, the program will select 3,000 creators from blogs, cafes, knowledge-sharing platforms, and premium content creators who receive high citation rates in AI briefings. They will receive an annual support fund of approximately 200 million KRW (131,400 USD) to promote content creation.
Lee Il-koo, head of Naver’s Content Service Division, emphasized that even in the AI era, user-generated content (UGC) that captures creators’ real experiences and insights remains a core asset that enhances AI diversity and expertise.