AI-driven search shift

: Google's rise in Korea illustrates why portals like Naver must adapt to AI era

For two decades, opening the internet in South Korea often meant opening Naver. In July, that habit slipped, exposing a deeper change in how Koreans find and consume information.

Google's mobile app recorded 47.02 million monthly active users (MAUs) in Korea, edging past Naver's 46.85 million, according to Mobile Index. MAU measures whether an app was used at least once during a month, though it says little about time spent or search volume and excludes PC web traffic.

Naver still holds more than 60 percent of traditional desktop and direct search traffic, compared with Google's mid-30s share. The mobile figures therefore do not establish a new market order. They do, however, reveal where user behavior may be heading.

Google has added about 8 million Korean mobile users in 18 months, while Naver's growth has been much slower. Google has also pushed its Gemini AI deeper into search and mobile services. Features such as Circle to Search on Samsung Galaxy smartphones let users reach Google without opening a conventional search page.

For years, Korean search revolved around major portals like Naver and Daum. Users entered through a portal site, typed keywords and worked through links, reviews and community posts.

Generative AI is changing that routine. People can ask questions in ordinary language and receive synthesized answers, sometimes through images or voice. The search box is becoming an interface rather than a destination.

ChatGPT's growth adds weight to the shift. The AI chatbot developed by OpenAI recorded 16.46 million Korean MAUs in July, about 2.6 times Daum's 6.31 million.

A 2025 government survey found that 60 percent of generative AI users had shifted at least half of their conventional search activity to artificial intelligence.

Against this backdrop, Naver faces a technological challenge alongside its market-share problem. Its strength was built on a dense domestic ecosystem of news, user-generated content, reviews and community knowledge.

Yet a search environment crowded with sponsored results and promotional content can make useful information harder to find. Naver's closed ecosystem also looks less compelling when AI systems can draw on the wider web.

The consequences extend beyond Naver. Search traffic produces a steady stream of local, original information. If domestic platforms lose users, the supply of high-quality Korean data could shrink, weakening the foundation for locally developed AI.

The AI-powered digital shift deserves attention from policymakers since data sovereignty is tied to the continued production and preservation of reliable domestic information, wherever users choose to search.

Yet protecting Naver from competition would miss the point. Global tech firms spend tens of billions of dollars annually on computing infrastructure, chips and data centers. Expecting a Korean portal to match hyperscalers in general-purpose AI would be an expensive way to chase a losing game.

Policymakers should instead focus on the conditions for competition. Korea needs cheaper access to computing power and energy, clearer rules for AI training and copyright. Regulations should also avoid weighing more heavily on companies simply because they fall within easy domestic jurisdiction.

Naver also needs to reconsider where it can win. Its investment in Anthropic points toward cooperation with global AI developers, while its stronger advantage may lie in areas rich in Korean data and local networks.

Korean portals should focus on logistics, commerce and other specialized services that offer more defensible opportunities than trying to replicate the largest AI foundation models.

The July search numbers may reverse next month. What is harder to reverse is the change in how people look for information. Naver once owned the starting point of the Korean internet. AI is making the starting point much harder to own, while making alternatives easier to reach.

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