Interview with Shin Ji-eun, Naver Clova Note Planning Leader (SL)
Naver's 'Clova Note' service, which uses artificial intelligence (AI) to convert voice recordings into documents, is rapidly growing. With the increase in video conferences and online classes due to COVID-19, it has become a savior for office workers and students who struggled with note-taking. Recently, it gained attention when Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, publicly shared a conversation with former Jeju Governor Won Hee-ryong using Clova Note. Naver plans to launch services targeting enterprises in the future.
Surpasses 1 Million Cumulative Downloads
Shin Ji-eun, Naver Clova Note Planning Leader (SL), stated in an interview with Asia Economy on the 25th, "The number of Clova Note downloads increased by more than 100,000 in just one month, reaching 1 million," adding, "While the number of sign-ups increased, the number of active users also grew significantly." The monthly active users (MAU) increased 7.7 times compared to January.
Clova Note can be used in various situations such as class note-taking, meeting minutes preparation, call logs, and counseling record management. It can convert a one-hour meeting into text within one minute. It is considered an essential tool during meetings with developers within Naver. Clova Note distinguishes speakers by recognizing voice differences among participants. When an audio file is uploaded, it converts it into text labeled as 'Participant 1', 'Participant 2', and so on. Naver enhanced speech recognition accuracy by integrating its speech recognition Nest into Clova Note. Shin explained, "The biggest core strength is Naver's technology," adding, "Speaker separation has been applied, and speaker identification is under further review for future implementation."
The user base of Clova Note is also broad. Although it was expected that users would mainly be in their 20s, the user distribution extends up to the mid-40s. This wide user base increases the potential for service expansion. Shin said, "Many users in their 50s and older are also joining, such as salespeople using it during phone calls."
Evolving Clova Note
As Clova Note gains popularity, Naver has been advancing various services. With online meetings becoming routine due to COVID-19, an update was made to integrate Clova Note with the video conferencing solution 'Zoom.' Additionally, editing and sharing features are continuously being improved, such as adding images to the memo function. For business users, a 'Group Management' feature is being prepared. This allows creating team folders where recordings can be shared with the entire team. Naver is also considering increasing the free usage time, which currently ranges from 300 to 600 minutes per month for general users.
Having confirmed Clova Note's growth potential, Naver is targeting the enterprise market. While the service is free for general users, the strategy is to generate revenue through corporate clients. Clova Note is preparing advanced business features beyond simple speech recognition, such as summarizing meeting minutes and assigning tasks. Shin emphasized, "In the long term, we envision collecting, analyzing, organizing, and proposing based on voice records," adding, "Our long-term goal is to create a new business analysis tool that has never existed before."
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