Production Costs and Time Reduced by 90%
On April 22, Kakao Entertainment announced the launch of "Helix Shorts," an AI-based service that automatically produces webtoons into short-form videos.
Helix Shorts is designed to help users intuitively understand the plot or key highlights of a work. The service utilizes advanced technology that goes beyond traditional text-based methods to deeply analyze major elements of webtoons, such as panel composition, speech bubbles, dialogue, and character expressions. The summarized storyline is then converted into natural-sounding voice narration using text-to-speech (TTS) technology, which is included in the short-form video along with subtitles. Subsequently, the service automatically arranges webtoon scenes and video effects to match the flow of the story. It also recommends background music (BGM) suitable for the theme and mood.
Content created with the AI-based short-form video production automation service "Helix Shorts" is displayed on the main screen of the KakaoPage application. Kakao Entertainment
The company expects that this service will allow more works to be effectively exposed to audiences. With Helix Shorts, short-form videos can be produced in about three hours at a cost of approximately 60,000 won. Previously, producing a single short-form promotional video for a work required a production period of three weeks and a cost of up to 2 million won, according to the company.
Short-form videos created with Helix Shorts are displayed on the main screen of the KakaoPage application. By utilizing AI-based automated programming technology that recommends content based on users' preferences and tendencies, the likelihood of users viewing webtoons after watching short-form videos has increased. Currently, about 40% of all short-form videos displayed on KakaoPage are produced with Helix Shorts. Kakao Entertainment plans to gradually expand the proportion of Helix Shorts content.
Kakao Entertainment began developing Helix Shorts technology in 2023 and conducted its first test in August 2023. The company began full-scale implementation of Helix Shorts in November 2023, and as of February 2025, it has completed applying Helix Shorts to all users who have viewed webtoons within the past 30 days. The company also plans to automate the review and editing stages within the first half of this year.
Kim Kibum, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Kakao Entertainment, stated, "Through Helix Shorts, we can provide users with an intuitive content discovery experience and offer creators a new opportunity to effectively promote their works." He added, "Kakao Entertainment will continue to develop AI technology to ensure the sustainable growth of the creative ecosystem."
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