Google Surpasses Naver as South Korea's Top Mobile App

Google has surpassed Naver to become South Korea's most-used mobile application by monthly active users (MAUs), according to data released by IGAWorks Mobile Index. The Google app recorded 47,022,854 monthly active users in July, making it the most-used productivity application in South Korea. This marks the first time Google has surpassed Naver in monthly active users since Mobile Index began tracking the data in March 2021.

Google's rapid user growth is attributed to the expansion of its Gemini AI model and broader adoption of AI-powered search features, as users increasingly shift from conventional keyword searches to conversational AI interactions. The Google app surpassed 40 million monthly active users for the first time in May 2025 and exceeded 46 million in May 2026.

ChatGPT also maintained its strong growth trajectory, with a significant increase in monthly active users from roughly 5 million in March last year to 16,456,151 in July. However, some industry observers caution that Google's lead over Naver has only been established on a monthly basis and that it remains to be seen whether the trend will persist over the longer term.