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Kakao Ent. Rolls Out AI-Generated Webtoon Shorts to All Users

Kakao Entertainment officially launched "Helix Shorts," a new AI-powered service that automatically generates short-form video content based on webtoons, on April 22. The company announced that the rollout is now complete across all Kakao Page users.

Helix Shorts converts webtoons into short videos (shorts) using AI automation. The videos appear on the Kakao Page app's home screen and summarize key story elements such as plotlines and highlights. The system also personalizes recommendations based on individual user preferences.

Kakao Entertainment stated Helix Shorts benefits both users and creators: users gain an intuitive way to discover webtoons, while creators can reach broader audiences without the need for manual video production.

Unlike earlier AI tools primarily focused on text, Helix Shorts employs advanced image and emotion recognition. It analyzes key webtoon elements — such as panel structure, speech bubbles, dialogue, and character expressions — to auto-generate summaries and narration. The narration is converted into audio using text-to-speech (TTS) and paired with appropriate visual and background music effects.

Development of the system began in 2023, with the first test in August 2024 and a patent filing in September. The service was formally introduced in November 2024. As of February 2025, Helix Shorts is now applied to all Kakao Page users who have read webtoons in the past 30 days. Currently, 40% of shorts on the platform are produced using the Helix system.

Kakao Entertainment plans to further increase this proportion and introduce AI agents in the first half of the year to automate the remaining manual review and editing steps.

Source: Kakao Entertainment