Naver Mates 创作者扶持计划带动 AI Briefing 引用量两个月翻倍

Citations of content from heavy users of NAVER's blog and cafe services in the company's artificial intelligence search summaries have surged over two months, a shift that followed the launch of a creator support program. Analysts say NAVER's strategy of strengthening AI search and user-generated content at the same time is starting to work.
Content from the 9,000 creators selected as "NAVER Mates" between June and August was cited as a source in NAVER's AI Briefing 626.23 million times in May, 1.07759 billion times in June and 1.33926 billion times in July, the company said on the 30th. NAVER Mate is a program that provides grants of up to 10.3 million won to creators who consistently post high-quality content on blogs, cafes, Knowledge iN and Premium Content. It began in June and selects 3,000 creators each month. Citations of content from these core creators in NAVER's user-generated content ecosystem have risen sharply since the program started. Comparing May, before the program began, with July, the increase reaches 114%.
The company attributes the growth to more active output from core creators following the launch of the support program. Content production by the roughly 9,000 Mates rose year-on-year in each of June, July and August, according to NAVER. "Many creators who were already active tell us they began posting more diligently after learning about the Mate program," a NAVER official said. "The grants are motivating creators to keep producing quality content." NAVER's expansion of AI Briefing coverage to 40% of searches by the end of the year also appears to have contributed to the rise in citations.
NAVER's strategy of growing AI search and user-generated content together is beginning to take hold. Because AI search summarizes and answers queries directly, users rarely click through to source links. That has drawn persistent criticism that such services sideline the creators who produce the content. For NAVER, whose strength lies in user-generated content containing firsthand experiences and analysis, preventing creator attrition is paramount. The quality of content produced by NAVER users is also directly tied to the quality of its AI search. Since January, user-generated content has accounted for 70% of the material cited by AI Briefing. That is why NAVER allocated an annual budget of 20 billion won to launch the Mate program.
NAVER plans to keep developing the program. It will begin factoring in citations from its AI tab, a conversational AI search feature, as well as AI Briefing when selecting Mates, reflecting differences in the type of content each cites. The company also plans to extend eligibility to Clip creators, who make short-form videos, within the year.
Still, some argue that NAVER needs to manage its user-generated content ecosystem more fundamentally. "The Mate program is producing results quickly, but it has limits as a one-off measure that applies only to a small number of influencers," an industry official said. "Steps are also needed to filter out promotional posts and low-quality content generated by AI."