NAVER : Search launches New Smart Block that Includes Frequently Searched Information by Users

NAVER search users can see the frequently asked questions and answers at a glance

NAVER Search launches New Smart Block that Includes Frequently Searched Information by Users

- Information and knowledge on the UGC platforms such as Knowledge iN, Blogs, and Cafes are reconstructed as smart blocks
- ▲Questions related to health, law, and social system that depend on reliability/source are categorized as 'FAQ block', ▲Questions related to daily life information and concerns are categorized as 'Q&A block'
- NAVER will increase the value of search through a virtuous cycle in which high-quality UGC is rebirthed as a vivid search content

November 11th, 2022

'User Generated Contents (UGC)' accumulated in Knowledge iN, blogs, and cafes are rebirthed as new smart blocks to help users search for knowledge more easily and quickly in the future. 'Smart Block' is a service that bundles and provides various contents with high relevance through AI technology, such as content analysis and classification by topic of the vast amount of data accumulated in NAVER.
NAVER announced that it provides knowledge information that allows users to quickly check the most frequently asked questions and answers on a specific topic on the search main screen. Knowledge information is provided in the form of smart blocks, including ▲'FAQ Blocks' for inquiries on topics where reliability is important, and ▲ 'Q&A Blocks' for inquiries on topics that require diverse answers such as daily life information and concerns.

First of all, 'FAQ Block' is mainly exposed when users search for topics that have answers or require highly reliable answers, such as disease/health, law, social systems/policies, etc. The questions in FAQ Block are matched with answers from experts and official sources. 'FAQ Block' expanded the topic groups in June of this year and is currently exposed to about 16 million inquiries per day.

In the past, NAVER search users had to go to the Knowledge iN collection where they can find questions that other users might ask, visit a specific website, or change keywords until the user could find the information they wanted. However now, the user satisfaction level is higher following the shortened search time. This is because, with a single search, the list of frequently asked questions and matching highly reliable answers are exposed on the search main screen.

For example, if users search for 'Student loan' in the search bar, search results will have matching answers to frequently asked questions through official sources such as the Korea Scholarship Foundation. At the bottom area of the search results, users will be able to see the frequently asked questions including 'What income bracket can use the repayment student loan system after employment?', 'What is the student loan credit recovery support business?', 'What student loan is used when living expenses are insufficient?'

The 'Q&A Block' is an additional search result provided when searching for topics where information can be shared, such as life/beauty, concerns, marriage/parenting, and other diverse opinions and reactions of users. For example, if users search with keywords such as 'Congratulatory money for friends', 'Date expenses', 'Baby gifts', and 'Having a crush on someone', various answers generated by users on Knowledge iN, Blogs, Cafes, etc. are matched to inquiries and users can see the results at a glance. The useful information scattered in each vertical service can be searched at once through NAVER search so it is expected that search convenience will be further enhanced.

Meanwhile, 'AI Snippet Technology' was applied to the 'FAQ Block' and 'Q&A Block' to identify and summarize the main information of documents. This technology automatically extracts and displays information that matches the user's search intention from numerous documents such as Knowledge iN, blogs, news, and knowledge encyclopedias through an AI-based analysis algorithm. This helps to quickly find the answers users want by exposing abundant information about the inquiries on search results.

Park Chan-hoon, the senior leader of NAVER Search CIC, stated that "The driving force behind NAVER Search being chosen by users is the advanced technology that enhances the convenience of search, as well as the content accumulated over 20 years. We will further increase the value of search by creating a virtuous cycle in which information produced by users can be newly utilized."