Naver is upgrading its search capabilities by expanding "AI Briefing" formats as the online search paradigm shifts toward artificial intelligence-powered summaries and conversational interfaces.
According to the information technology industry on May 22, Naver recently added "multi-source instant answer" and "image-type" formats to its AI Briefing service. Launched in March last year, AI Briefing uses generative AI to analyze search intent and provide summaries with source citations. The feature currently applies to approximately 20% of search results.
The newly introduced multi-source instant answer format identifies key facts common across multiple sources and delivers them as a single definitive answer. Users can quickly obtain information through a brief answer displayed at the top without manually comparing multiple documents.
For example, searching "task manager shortcut" or "freelancer year-end tax filing period" displays core results such as "Ctrl+Shift+Esc" or "May 1 to May 31" at the very top. Detailed explanations and their sources appear below.
The image-type AI Briefing displays the most relevant image at the top of search results, with AI-generated summaries drawn from the image and multiple document sources. This format helps users quickly grasp content difficult to understand through text alone, such as mathematical formulas, scientific theories, and engineering structures. Searches for "internal structure of an egg" or "definition of hypotenuse" display images from user-generated blog and café posts at the top of AI Briefing results.
Naver introduced AI Briefing last year as AI-powered summary and conversational search gained momentum, led by OpenAI's ChatGPT. The addition of new formats is seen as an effort to enhance the service's quality.
Naver reports meaningful changes in user search behavior since introducing AI Briefing. At an earnings call on May 6, Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon said, "Long-tail queries of 15 characters or more have more than doubled since AI Briefing's initial launch, creating new search experiences. Users are also spending stable amounts of time in the top section where summarized results appear."
She added, "After applying personalization technology recently, follow-up question click rates increased by more than 20%, confirming that users find AI-provided information useful."
Naver aims to double AI Briefing coverage to approximately 40% of search results by year-end. The company also plans to launch new services including a shopping agent and AI tab in the first half to generate revenue by integrating generative AI with core services such as search and commerce.