NAVER Blog Push Pays Off as AI Briefing Citations Double
NAVER's AI Briefing, an artificial intelligence search summary service, saw citations of content from its "Mate" creators surge by 114% between May and July. The company reported that citations rose from 626.23 million in May to 1.33926 billion in July. This increase follows the launch of the NAVER Mate program in June, which provides grants of up to 10.3 million won to 3,000 creators monthly for consistently posting high-quality content across NAVER's blog, cafe, Knowledge iN, and Premium Content services. The program aims to strengthen both AI search capabilities and user-generated content, with NAVER attributing the growth to increased activity from core creators. NAVER plans to expand the program by factoring in citations from its conversational AI search feature and extending eligibility to short-form video creators within the year.
NAVER's strategy to integrate AI search with its user-generated content ecosystem is showing early success, with a 114% rise in content citations in AI Briefing from May to July. The NAVER Mate program, which grants up to 10.3 million won monthly to 3,000 creators, is directly motivating higher-quality content production. This is critical for NAVER, as user-generated content accounts for 70% of material cited by AI Briefing, making creator retention and content quality paramount for its AI search performance. The real story here is NAVER's proactive approach to a core challenge facing AI search: how to fairly compensate content creators when AI summaries reduce direct traffic to source links. By investing 20 billion won annually in the Mate program, NAVER is attempting to prevent creator attrition and ensure a steady supply of high-quality, first-hand content. The company's plan to expand eligibility to Clip creators and factor in citations from its conversational AI tab suggests a broader commitment to this model, which could set a precedent for other platforms in Asia grappling with similar issues. The thing to watch is whether the Mate program can scale beyond a select group of influencers. While initial results are strong, some industry observers suggest that a more fundamental approach is needed to manage the broader user-generated content ecosystem, including filtering out promotional and low-quality AI-generated content. NAVER's ability to maintain content quality and creator engagement across its vast user base will be key to the long-term success of its AI search strategy.
