Politixia
Contrary to initial fears that generative AI would replace traditional search engines, the number of users employing both services is growing rapidly. In South Korea, more than 9 out of 10 ChatGPT users also use Naver search. Search and AI are not displacing each other — instead, a “hybrid search” model in which the two complement one another is emerging as the new standard.
According to Mobile Index on the 14th, “cross-platform users” who use both ChatGPT and Naver search totaled 15.08 million as of July this year. That is roughly a 5.6-fold surge compared with 2.7 million in January of last year, when anxiety in the portal industry was at its peak. During the same period, the proportion of ChatGPT’s total 16.46 million users who also used Naver search reached 91.6%.
An industry insider explained: “Search behavior appears to have shifted — users first receive broad, summarized information from generative AI, then verify recency and on-the-ground context through human-generated content on portals.”
Search and AI: A Combination, Not a Competition
Users are actively combining generative AI with traditional search. They delegate complex comparisons, summarization, and contextual organization to generative AI, while turning to portals for sensory verification of what text alone cannot convey. For example, a user might ask ChatGPT to plan a 4-day, 3-night Jeju Island itinerary, then search Naver for photos and videos of restaurants and accommodations with the latest reviews. Conversely, a user might browse used-car content and purchase precautions on Naver, then ask ChatGPT to organize the information according to their specific situation.
Cross-platform users showed higher loyalty than general search users. As of July this year, cross-platform users averaged 22.6 days of usage per month, 2.5 days more than the 20.1 days for all Naver search users. This is interpreted as reflecting demand for relatively clear, specific information-seeking purposes.
The Spread of Sentence-Type Queries
Naver is upgrading its services in line with this cross-search trend. In June, the company officially launched “AI Tab,” an agent-based AI search service. Its key feature is providing conversational answers to complex user questions and connecting users to Naver services such as shopping and blogs. The service was launched against the backdrop of generative AI’s popularization changing existing portal usage habits.
In fact, Naver saw the share of search queries of 15 characters or longer more than double last year compared with 2024. In the past, users would simply type a keyword like “robot vacuum recommendation”; now they type “recommend a quiet robot vacuum for raising a 17-month-old baby.” Sentence-type and scenario-type queries that include specific situations, conditions, and purposes — much like generative AI prompts — are increasing in portal search as well.
AI Tab’s monthly active users (MAU) surpassed 10 million last month, shortly after its launch. A Naver representative said: “With the emergence of generative AI, new demand and traffic are being created, and the overall search market is expanding. We will combine AI with search services and evolve into a platform for solving everyday problems.”
The Search Market Moves Toward Coexistence
Going forward, the key will be how seamlessly the post-search decision-making and execution stages are connected. Kim Kyung-woe, a professor at Yonsei University’s Division of Integrated Humanities and Social Sciences, assessed: “Generative AI and existing search engines are not heading toward a chicken game of mutual elimination, but toward coexistence.”
Meanwhile, OpenAI is strengthening its push into the enterprise market with “ChatGPT Skills,” a feature for business and enterprise accounts that reduces repetitive prompt entry. The feature allows users to save and reuse task-specific instructions, and can be used for maintaining brand voice, repurposing content, summarizing meeting notes, and creating interactive dashboards. OpenAI is reportedly considering expanding the feature to Plus and free accounts.
ChatGPT Skills is characterized by being more intuitive and flexible than existing custom GPTs. Users can create skills by defining a series of prompts or recording processes, and can access the feature without technical expertise. Created skills can be edited or shared with other platforms, making them highly useful in collaborative environments.
The coexistence of generative AI and traditional search is not limited to South Korea. In the global market as well, AI tools are evolving in a direction that enhances search efficiency rather than replacing search. Features like ChatGPT Skills focus on automating repetitive tasks to save time and ensure consistency, and are expected to play a complementary role to the recency and on-the-ground context that search portals provide.
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