[Young Journalist Ghahyeon Kim] AI companies are moving beyond basic information-gathering chatbots. They’re now prioritizing interactive interfaces that layer their unique virtual worldviews with character values. The change comes as services that enable users to meet in original worldviews or as virtual characters that reflect personal tastes are becoming popular.

According to market research firm “Research and Markets”, the global AI chat market size was valued at $4.24 billion (approximately 5.8 trillion KRW) in 2025. It is projected to grow at an average annual rate of 18.3% until 2033. In overseas markets, AI character-based chat services such as 'Character.AI' and 'Replika' are gaining popularity.

Domestic IT companies also got into the race with advanced technologies and platforms

Until now, the only firm that managed to secure significant traffic was generative AI startup ScatterLab.

The AI chat app Zeta by ScatterLab is a service where users can create and chat with AI characters based on the narratives and personalities they want. The result is a unique experience, as users feel like they are talking to a web novel lead in real-time. Its Monthly Active Users (MAU) exceeded 1.4 million this year.

Naver is currently developing a story-telling AI chatbot service that uses the Naver Webtoon IP, following the launch of its existing character chat service. The aim is to strengthen the lock-in of users on current platforms by combining Naver Webtoon's already existing character fandom with AI technology.

In addition to a single-character system for one-on-one talks, efforts are also underway to scale huge "worldviews" into AI-powered metaverses (3D virtual environments).

On June 29, blockchain gaming company Nexus opened the closed beta test (CBT) for its AI metaverse platform ‘Stage’ and started raising creators.

‘Stage’ is a platform for stories to be created through the natural interplay of many AI characters, virtual locations, intricate relationships, and surprises. With only a few lines of text input, such as background settings and characters, the AI generates a playable world view automatically. Nexus has laid out a roadmap for an 'open AI ecosystem' where you can play with and evolve the virtual worlds created by creators.

An industry official said, "It is expected that domestic companies' attempts to expand their territory beyond one-on-one chat to a huge virtual world view and metaverse will settle into a new future growth engine."

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