[DigitalToday reporter Ho-jeong Lee] Naver is adding a conversational place-search function to its map app, allowing users to find places in natural language and continue through to reservations.

Naver said on Sept. 17 it has launched an AI-based conversational place-exploration function called Place Agent in the Naver Map app.

Place Agent recommends places such as restaurants, cafes, bakeries, hotels, pensions, hair salons and animal hospitals based on the context of a user’s conversation and location information.

Users can search by putting multiple conditions into a single sentence, such as "a Korean restaurant in Yongin with plenty of parking that is good to stop by on the way back from visiting family graves." Place Agent proposes a list of places reflecting the entered conditions and also shows each place’s features and reasons for recommendation.

Recommendations draw on place information such as address, business hours, menu and phone number, as well as visitor reviews, blog reviews and reservation availability.

It also supports continuing a follow-up conversation based on the search results. For example, users can ask again, "Which of these is quiet?" about recommended places to narrow candidates that meet the conditions.

For locations that support Naver Reservation, users can also request a booking in the chat window. They enter the business name, date, time and number of people, then confirm the booking conditions and submit the request after giving consent.

Place Agent can be used via the agent button to the right of the search bar in the Naver Map app or through recommended questions shown in restaurant search results. It is available to logged-in users aged 14 and older, and responses display an AI guidance message.

Ji-hoon Choi (최지훈), head of Naver Place Search, said, "We will continue to enhance the functions and usability so that users can discover the places they want more easily and accurately and naturally move on to reservations and actual visits."