This article is by Kwen Yu-jin and read by an artificial voice.

Naver on Friday posted second quarter revenue of 2.92 trillion won ($2.1 billion) and operating profit of 521.6 billion won, up 11.7 percent and 10.3 percent, respectively, from a year earlier. Korea's largest internet company is shifting artificial intelligence from an investment priority to a direct source of sales, and embedding AI across its platforms.

Commerce led the quarter's growth, with sales climbing 19.8 percent to 861.1 billion won. Naver credited the rise to its stand-alone Naver Plus app, which drove more transactions, and to stronger membership perks and delivery options.

Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon said during a conference call the company is combining diverse products on Naver Shopping - the company's online marketplace - with AI to deliver "ultrapersonalized recommendations and discovery services."

AI moves from testing to monetization

Naver said applying AI to commerce and advertising has already improved ad efficiency and boosted conversion rates.

Its AI-based ad optimization tool, ADVoost, generated ad revenue from previously unprofitable keywords and lifted return on ad spend by more than 20 percent from last year. AI-powered ad consulting also increased the number of performance advertisers by more than 60 percent.

In commerce, AI-enhanced personalization strengthened product recommendations. The Naver Plus Store app, for example, achieved conversion rates 17 percentage points higher than its web version, with commerce ad revenue up 19.8 percent from the previous year.

All-services AI push

Naver plans to accelerate its "On-Service AI" strategy, applying AI across all services to create personalized user experiences. It will launch an integrated AI agent connecting search, shopping, local and financial services.

The goal is to develop an AI assistant that understands and supports users across the Naver ecosystem, rather than offering single-function responses.

To do so, the company aims to release an AI Tab featuring conversational AI search by next year. It also plans to introduce a commerce-specific AI agent this year that will act like an in-store sales adviser - answering questions in natural language, recommending products and assisting with purchase decisions.

Data as core asset

The rise of AI has underscored the importance of high-quality behavioral data such as clicks and time spent on content, with detailed, contextual data giving firms an edge as the technology evolves.

"Naver has extensive user-generated content from blogs, [online] cafes and shopping reviews, as well as deep insight into real usage patterns from search, payment, booking and visits," Choi said. "We are focused on turning this into revenue."

The recent acquisition of Spanish consumer-to-consumer platform Wallapop also aligns with this data-driven strategy. The app is rapidly accumulating product listings and behavioral data, which Naver plans to use to enhance HyperClova X - its generative AI model - and roll out tailored on-service AI strategies in the European market.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.