(C) TechCrunch

SEOUL — South Korea has firmly entered the era of ubiquitous artificial intelligence, with three out of four mobile users now integrating AI services into their daily lives. While OpenAI’s ChatGPT maintains its position as the market leader, Google’s Gemini is demonstrating explosive growth, signaling a shift in the competitive landscape of the domestic AI market.

The Mainstreaming of AI Adoption

According to the "2025 Second Half Mobile Communications Report" released by Consumer Insight on December 18, the AI adoption rate in South Korea has reached 74%. This indicates that a vast majority of the population—approximately three in four citizens—has utilized at least one AI service.

The depth of engagement is also noteworthy. The average user now utilizes 2.2 different AI services, moving away from single-platform loyalty. Frequency of use remains high, with "3 to 4 times a week" being the most common response (26%), followed closely by "daily use" (23%) and "1 to 2 times a week" (23%).

The Global Giants: ChatGPT vs. Gemini

The battle for dominance remains centered on global tech giants. ChatGPT remains the most recognized and utilized platform, with its usage rate climbing from 47% in the first half of the year to 54% in the second half. Its brand awareness stands at a commanding 66%.

However, the most significant momentum was observed in Google’s Gemini. Gemini’s usage rate surged by 16 percentage points to reach 30%, the highest growth rate among all surveyed services. This rapid ascent is attributed to Google’s aggressive integration of Gemini into the Android ecosystem and its workspace productivity tools, narrowing the gap with OpenAI.

Domestic Performance: Wrtn Ascends, A-dot Stagnates

In the domestic sector, results were mixed for South Korean AI developers. SK Telecom’s A-dot maintained a respectable 17% usage rate, though it saw a slight decline compared to the first half of the year.

In contrast, Wrtn (Wrtn Technologies) emerged as a strong local contender. Its usage rate rose to 13%, a 6-percentage-point increase, allowing it to overtake Naver’s ClovaNote. Wrtn’s success is largely credited to its "AI portal" strategy, which aggregates various large language models (LLMs) for Korean users.

Market Outlook

The survey, conducted from October 13 to November 10 among 3,148 mobile users aged 14 and older, underscores a critical turning point. Industry experts suggest that the "experience gap" is closing, and the competition is shifting from simple brand awareness to functional utility and ecosystem lock-in.

As AI becomes a commodity, the challenge for domestic firms like Naver and SKT will be to differentiate their services against the massive R&D spending and global integration capabilities of Google and OpenAI. With 74% of the nation already onboarded, the next phase of the AI war will likely be won on the battlefield of advanced personalization and seamless integration into mobile hardware.

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