{"rewrite":{"id":"r_41415127b3804869a894f23b","clusterId":"c_308140c29c4940b09267bb39","slug":"webtoon-launches-ai-story-chat-byus-with-creator-approved-ip","model":"deepseek-v4-flash","headline":"WEBTOON Launches AI Story Chat byUs With Creator-Approved IP","summary":"Naver WEBTOON launched byUs, an AI-powered story chat service that lets users create stories by interacting with characters from creator-approved webtoon IPs. The service offers Original Stories and Fan Stories, with features like AI-suggested replies and contextual images. It launched with the webtoon Ctrl+Alt+Resign and is currently available only in Korea. The service follows the earlier Character Chat chatbot, which exceeded 100 million messages by June 2025.","whyItMatters":"The service expands WEBTOON's AI chatbot efforts into a structured narrative creation platform using official IP with creator approval, but its Korea-only launch limits immediate global reach.","webCardHtml":"\u003cp\u003eNaver WEBTOON\u0026#39;s new byUs service builds on the company\u0026#39;s earlier Character Chat chatbot, which launched in South Korea in June 2024 and passed 100 million messages by June 2025. Where Character Chat allowed open-ended conversations with webtoon characters, byUs offers two structured content types: Original Stories that follow the webtoon\u0026#39;s plot before branching into AI-driven conversations, and Fan Stories where users create and share their own scenarios. The service includes AI-suggested replies, autoplay conversations, contextual image snapshots, and unlockable special cuts. Creator Sim-mok Woo, whose Ctrl+Alt+Resign is the launch title, said the platform lets readers enjoy the characters more deeply while creating their own stories with the author\u0026#39;s approval. The service is currently available only in Korea.\u003c/p\u003e","blueskyPost":"WEBTOON launched byUs, an AI story chat service that lets fans create stories with official webtoon characters. Launched with Ctrl+Alt+Resign, only in Korea for now. Follows the Character Chat chatbot that hit 100M messages.","twitterPost":"WEBTOON launched byUs, an AI story chat service with creator-approved webtoon IP. Users can create Original Stories or Fan Stories. Launched with Ctrl+Alt+Resign, only in Korea. Follows Character Chat.","threadsPost":null,"newsletterBlurb":"Naver WEBTOON launched byUs, an AI-powered story chat service that lets users create stories by interacting with characters from official webtoon IPs. The service offers Original Stories and Fan Stories, and launched with the webtoon Ctrl+Alt+Resign. It is currently available only in Korea, following the earlier Character Chat chatbot.","attributionJson":"[{\"source\":\"Anime News Network\",\"url\":\"https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2026-07-11/webtoon-launches-ai-story-chat-service-byus-featuring-creator-approved-webtoon-ip/.239448\",\"title\":\"WEBTOON Launches AI Story Chat Service byUs Featuring Creator-Approved Webtoon IP\"}]","lintFlagsJson":null,"lintHits":0,"costUsd":0,"inputTokens":3911,"outputTokens":2835,"status":"published","repairAttempts":0,"nextRepairAt":null,"factsAttemptedAt":1783810781,"createdAt":"2026-07-11T22:52:21.000Z","publishedAt":"2026-07-11T22:52:28.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-07-11T22:52:21.000Z"},"cluster":{"id":"c_308140c29c4940b09267bb39","canonicalTitle":"News\nWEBTOON Launches AI Story Chat Service byUs Featuring Creator-Approved Webtoon IP","representativeArticleId":"a_8549d9760cff8e4096b30fc6","sourceCount":1,"writtenSourceCount":1,"writeAttempts":0,"isSolo":true,"entitiesJson":"{\"anime_titles\":[],\"manga_titles\":[],\"work_titles\":[],\"studios\":[\"WEBTOON\"],\"people\":[],\"type\":\"announcement\",\"domain\":\"manga\",\"is_roundup\":false}","contentType":"news","status":"published","firstSeenAt":"2026-07-11T17:15:00.000Z","lastSeenAt":"2026-07-11T17:15:00.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-07-11T22:52:28.000Z"},"attribution":[{"source":"Anime News Network","url":"https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2026-07-11/webtoon-launches-ai-story-chat-service-byus-featuring-creator-approved-webtoon-ip/.239448","title":"News\nWEBTOON Launches AI Story Chat Service byUs Featuring Creator-Approved Webtoon IP"}],"entities":{"anime_titles":[],"manga_titles":[],"work_titles":[],"studios":["WEBTOON"],"people":[],"type":"announcement","domain":"manga","is_roundup":false},"keyFacts":null}