Naver to debut agentic AI service Agent N next year

Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon delivers a keynote speech during the Naver DAN25 conference at Coex in southern Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of Naver.

Naver has set a strategic goal of introducing agentic artificial intelligence (AI) for its major services next year, while also expanding its portfolio to assist in the AI transformation of businesses.

At Coex in southern Seoul on Thursday, the Korean internet giant outlined its new strategies at DAN25, an annual conference where its affiliates and partner companies showcased their latest updates and shared AI insights with the broader tech industry.

“Naver has seen positive signals over the past year as its AI technologies were applied to key services including search, shopping and finance, resulting in higher user satisfaction and sales growth,” Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon said during her keynote speech.

“Building on that experience and technological expertise, Naver plans to roll out advanced AI agents across major services, starting with shopping, followed by search and advertising.”

As part of the plan, Naver will introduce a shopping agent on Naver Plus Store, its e-commerce platform, in the first quarter of next year, and will expand its AI services the following quarter with the launch of AI Tab, powered by Agent N AI.

“AI Tab will free users from having to think about search keywords, as Agent N will understand users’ intentions through simple conversations and connect them to the content, products and services they want, and even carry out actions on their behalf,” she said.

Agent N will be built on Naver’s extensive data as Korea’s biggest internet service and technological infrastructure across all of its services. It is designed to understand user context and to predict and suggest next actions.

According to Naver Chief Operating Officer Kim Bom-jun, Agent N will realize “a seamless experience” that connects all of Naver's services. Even without direct user commands, Naver’s various features, including maps, calendars, reservations and content, will naturally integrate into users’ search processes, suggesting and executing options as needed.

For example, when a user searches “running course for beginners” on AI Tab, the AI agent will show routes and reviews based on data from Naver’s map, community and blogs. At the same time, the AI will suggest that the user subscribe to running influencers or browse and purchase personalized products, such as windbreakers, for example. The shopping agent will then be involved if the user decides to purchase a windbreaker.

“Agent N will be an AI agent that understands users in a multidimensional way, naturally making suggestions and taking actions when needed,” Kim said.

In recent months, AI firms have been scrambling to build ecosystems in which their AI agents can execute actions by forming partnerships across different sectors. Naver, however, already has a diverse service ecosystem spanning search, shopping and finance, giving it a competitive edge over rivals in introducing AI agents.

Robots powered by Naver's artificial intelligence models are displayed at the company's DAN25 conference at Coex in southern Seoul, Thursday. Korea Times photo by Nam Hyun-woo

Along with plans for agentic AI, CEO Choi outlined aggressive investment plans for physical AI for business-to-business applications, enabling AI to communicate and operate within real-world industrial sites and systems.

For this, Naver will invest at least 1 trillion won ($690 million) in securing graphics processing units (GPUs) by 2026 to empower its data centers and will operate a physical AI test bed connecting its offices with the GAK Sejong data center.

“By combining Naver’s unrivalled software capabilities with Korea’s competitiveness in semiconductor, automobile, shipbuilding and other manufacturing sectors, we will accelerate the nation’s industrial transformation and innovation in AI,” Choi said. “Based on our full-stack AI technologies, we will also help Korea stand as one of the world’s top three AI powerhouses.”