[AI Revolution] Buzzvil's Strategy for Increasing App Dwell Time in the AI Era

Lee Gwanwoo, CEO of Buzzvil, Interviewed
"Google- and Meta-Style Targeted Advertising Will Disappear"
Self-Directed Talent That Crosses Job Boundaries Is Key

"When the age of 'zero-click' arrives, with artificial intelligence (AI) comparing and searching for products and automatically deciding what to buy on behalf of people, the 'targeted advertising' long dominated by Google and Meta will inevitably disappear. 'Interaction advertising,' which encourages consumers to experience and respond to products emotionally, will take its place."

Buzzvil CEO Lee Gwanwoo is being interviewed by The Asia Business Daily at his office in Songpa-gu, Seoul. 2026.10.13 Photo by Kim Hyunmin

Interaction AI Increases App Dwell Time with a Single Line of Code

In a recent interview with The Asia Business Daily, Buzzvil CEO Lee Gwanwoo described the seismic shifts AI development will bring to the advertising market. Buzzvil, which once pioneered the business-to-consumer (B2C) market with lock-screen reward apps, has since transformed its business model into a business-to-business (B2B) modular service that operates "benefits zones" for more than 500 platforms at home and abroad, including KakaoBank, Lotte L.Point and Olive Young. "Our partners can set up a benefits zone instantly by adding just one line of code," Lee said. "It not only diversifies revenue but also dramatically increases the time consumers spend on their apps, resulting in very high satisfaction among financial and retail companies with the integration."

He likened Buzzvil's interaction AI strategy to "a personalized tasting booth brought into the digital world." Just as shoppers decide whether to buy a product after tasting it at a supermarket, advertising goes beyond simply displaying ads or encouraging clicks: AI analyzes consumers' interests and the factors they consider important when making purchases, such as price and ingredients, in real time, then designs experiences such as quizzes, short-form videos and personalized coupons. "In the past, we played an intermediary role by providing ad placements, but now we supply the AI agent itself," Lee said. "We saw Olive Young's purchase conversion rate increase by more than 170% after it adopted this technology."

The company is also actively pursuing global markets. To reduce the fixed-cost risks associated with establishing overseas subsidiaries, it has formed dedicated sales teams targeting Israel, Turkey and the United Kingdom, offering services that set it apart from Chinese copycats. "On the back of K-beauty's growth, we recently successfully managed a Mediheal advertising campaign in Japan," Lee said. "Having completed our financial preparations, we will look for the optimal timing for an initial public offering (IPO), when we can receive an appropriate valuation."

Lee Kwanwoo, CEO of Buzzvil, is being interviewed by The Asia Business Daily at his office in Songpa-gu, Seoul. 2026.10.13 Photo by Kim Hyunmin.

AI Token Support and Blurring Job Boundaries... Accelerating Innovation with Self-Directed Talent

To drive innovation, Buzzvil has transformed its corporate culture to be "AI-native." It provides all employees with virtually unlimited AI token usage. An AI committee formed organically within the company, and a dashboard transparently displays monthly rankings of AI use by all employees. As a result, productivity has been maximized to the point that even non-developers can work in a terminal environment.

"At our internal hackathon, 40% of participants were in non-development roles. In a recent performance review, an employee responsible for data also created and used an in-house agent that records and supports all internal activities," Lee said. "The design team felt a sense of urgency and studied coding on their own. In just one quarter, they produced 130 development deliverables, handling everything from planning through development." He added, "The boundaries between job functions within the organization are rapidly breaking down. Even when hiring heads of finance or human resources, we assess 'AI development and application skills' as our top priority, ahead of experience in the relevant field."

He said the company is working to create an environment where barrels, rather than teams, take the lead. "Barrel" is a concept used in the global startup sector, including Silicon Valley, and is contrasted with ammunition that waits for instructions. It refers to self-directed talent who sets their own course, learns quickly and has the tenacity to see things through. "If people have the will, AI can amplify their capabilities without limit and turn them into multidisciplinary talents like Leonardo da Vinci," Lee said. "Barrels who turn crises into opportunities and drive their own innovation are Buzzvil's core competitive advantage."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.