Key takeaways
- Among search services tried in the past 3 months, ChatGPT usage was 54.5% - up about 15 percentage points from the previous year.
- Naver retained the No. 1 spot at 81.6%, although its usage-experience rate edged down slightly.
- Among ChatGPT users who did not get the answer they wanted, the share who also used another generative AI rose to 44.7%, while the share switching to general search declined.
Survey results - How is search-service use changing?
These findings come from the self-published 「AI 검색 트렌드 리포트 2026」 by research firm Opensurvey (a nationwide survey of 1,000 men and women ages 15–59).
- Search-service use in the past 3 months: Naver 81.6% · YouTube 72.3% · ChatGPT 54.5% · Gemini 28.9%
- Change: ChatGPT rose by about 15 percentage points, Gemini grew about 3-fold, while Naver and YouTube declined
- Most-used search service, No. 1 choice: Naver 46% · Google 17.2% · YouTube 11.4% · ChatGPT 7.2%
- When ChatGPT users did not get the answer they wanted: Re-entered the question: 77.2% · Also used another generative AI: 44.7% (up 12.3 percentage points) · The share switching to general search declined
- 2026-07 follow-up survey (nationwide sample of 1,000 men and women ages 10–59): 56.9% of generative AI users said they ask AI as soon as a question comes to mind. In searches for news and everyday information, the share who mainly use Naver remained in the 60% range.
The Institute’s interpretation - How should hospitals view Naver and AI together?
This is a self-published survey about search-service use in general; it did not examine health or hospital searches separately. The following is the Institute’s interpretation applied to hospitals.
The assumption that “managing only Naver is enough” is becoming less tenable. Hospitals should consider Naver and AI together.
- Naver remains important. It ranks No. 1 both in overall usage experience and as the service most often used. This survey is no reason to reduce efforts to manage Naver.
- Patients may encounter hospital information through more channels. Since usage experience with both Naver and AI exceeds half, patients may also encounter hospital information through several channels. If information differs from one channel to another, it may be harder for patients to compare and decide.
- Checking only one AI may not be enough. More ChatGPT users reported also using another AI. It is worth checking how major AI services present your hospital’s information, too.
Is hospital information on Naver and AI consistent?
- Does the care information on Naver match what is on the hospital website?
- When asked about the hospital, do ChatGPT and Gemini give the same departments, location, and hours as the website?
- Is there an owner and process for updating Naver and the website together when information changes?
This does not mean reducing Naver use and shifting to AI. Managing both channels starts with updating Naver and the website together - even when changing a single item, such as clinic hours.
Sources
Opensurvey, 「AI 검색 트렌드 리포트 2026」 · 「AI 검색 트렌드 리포트 2026 하반기」 (self-published)
Original sources: Opensurvey Blog (2026.2.2) · Second-half report (2026.7.13)
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