Naver Automates AI Ads for Local Services
Google and Meta Automate End-to-End
The technology competition among platform companies to preempt the artificial intelligence (AI) advertising market, expected to grow to a scale of KRW50 trillion by 2030, is heating up. Companies are boosting their adtech capabilities by automating everything from ad creative production to targeting and bidding with AI.
According to the industry on the 25th, major domestic and international platform companies including Naver, Google, and Meta are successively launching solutions that automate overall ad operations with AI. At the same time, they are integrating AI into existing ad solutions to expand the revenue share of AI advertising.
Naver is rapidly expanding the application scope of “AdBoost,” an AI ad solution launched last year. Following shopping and digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising, the company introduced “AdBoost Max,” specialized for AI briefing ads, last month. Next month, it will expand the solution to Place ads to target local store advertisers.
AI ad solutions are driving revenue growth. According to the company, Naver's ad revenue in the second quarter of this year recorded KRW1.4472 trillion, up 7.5% from the same period last year. Naver explained that AI served as a major engine for ad business growth, with the contribution of AI accounting for more than 60% of the increase in ad revenue.
Kakao launched “Kakao Moment AI,” an AI-based ad operation support service, in December last year. The company plans to refine the service by developing functions such as goal setting, budget allocation, and creative testing so that AI can support overall ad operations.
Global big tech firms are also offering solutions that leave the entire advertising process to AI. Google is optimizing ad operations across multiple channels, including Search and YouTube, through “Performance Max.” Centering on “AI Max,” an AI solution for search ads launched last year, Google is also accelerating the AI transition of search advertising.
Meta has put forward “Advantage+.” AI automatically determines targets, budgets, and ad placements, and even creates materials such as text and images using generative AI. According to Meta, most advertisers are currently using one or more Advantage+ products. Advertisers using AI-based solutions recorded return on ad spend an average of 22% higher than conventional campaigns.
The reason these companies are putting effort into AI ad solutions is that the market size is surging rapidly. According to global market research firm The Business Research Company, the global AI advertising market size is expected to grow from $11.17 billion (approximately KRW15.4 trillion) in 2025 at a compound annual growth rate of 26.7%, expanding to $36.34 billion (approximately KRW50.2 trillion) by 2030. The survey included AI-based targeting, ad content generation and optimization, and performance analysis software (SW).
An official in the platform industry said, “As the adtech market grows rapidly due to advancements in AI technology, tech competition between platforms is also intensifying,” adding, “AI ad automation competition is expected to become even stronger around platforms that possess vast user data, such as search, shopping, and social networking services (SNS).”
