[Edaily Yun Junghoon· Reporter Shin Min-jun] Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming integrated into the entire marketing process. AI is involved from the stage of selecting customers to target with ads all the way through to the stage where consumers discover content and make purchases. However, at the end of the day, it is still people who make the decisions.

This was the common message conveyed by SKTelecom(017670)and Naver during the closing session of the “E-Marketing Insight Summit 2026” held at the FKI Tower in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 15th. Song Hoon-hwan, Head of SKT’s AI Marketing Team, stated, “What consumers dislike isn’t advertising itself, but ads that have nothing to do with them.”

SKT uses AI to analyze location, call, and app usage data from approximately 23 million customers to identify detailed customer segments, such as “people in their 20s and 30s who are preparing for marriage and are interested in interior design.” At the Nonsan Strawberry Festival, the company provided real-time guidance on less crowded parking lots to visitors entering via the Nonsan Interchange. Its survey service, “AI Survey,” can complete a survey of 600 people in just one hour.

SKT is also developing “T-Marketer,” an Agent AI designed to assist with ad monitoring, creative production, and budget allocation. The company explains that this collaborative structure allows the Agent AI to monitor ads during early morning hours on behalf of junior staff, while marketers focus on decision-making and strategy.

Team Leader Song said, “I, too, feel a sense of crisis that AI might take my job,” but added, “AI cannot replace everything; ultimately, its role is to help people focus on their core tasks.”

Kang In-ho, Head of Naver’s Future AI Center, presented on the changes in search in the AI era and the future of content. He stated, “AI search is changing the way content is discovered,” adding, “It is shifting from simply displaying search results to finding, understanding, and connecting the necessary information.” If you ask Naver’s “AI Tab,” “Where can I find a popular brunch spot near Seokchon Lake with reservations for three people on Saturday for lunch?” everything from recommendations to reservations is handled on a single screen.

In this context, the content that AI uses as the basis for its answers becomes crucial. Director Kang cited the question, “Who is the manager of the national baseball team for the upcoming Asian Games?” as an example. If relying solely on an AI model, it would provide incorrect information based on the 2023 Hangzhou Games—data that was current only at the time of training. However, by referencing both the latest user-generated content and the database, it can provide the correct answer based on the 2026 Games.

He stated, “What determines the performance of an AI model is not the amount of data collected, but the quality of the data,” and identified the following as criteria for good content: a focus on facts and knowledge, minimization of duplication and noise, and reflection of the latest information.

Director Kang identified the following characteristics of good content in the AI era: △ information unknown to AI models; △ information that AI can read and cite; and △ content with clear sources, dates, and authors that is consistently updated. He emphasized, “Content that AI can understand and utilize—beyond mere search visibility—is becoming increasingly important,” adding, “The vivid user experiences and opinions accumulated on blogs and online communities cannot be replaced by AI.”

He also expressed an open stance toward content created by AI.

“It’s strange to dismiss content just because AI was used,” he said. “AI is an excellent tool that we should embrace, and it doesn’t determine the quality of the content itself.” He continued, “New technologies have always changed the way content is produced. Photography broadened the scope of expression rather than replacing painting, and digital technology has expanded the possibilities of creativity.”

He continued, “Even when utilizing AI, content must be created in a way that AI can read and verify,” adding, “Even if AI reads, verifies, and summarizes the content, it is ultimately people who view and judge it.” He concluded, “Content created with the human viewer in mind will endure even in the age of AI.”