From red bean buns to salt bread ... Youngpoong Bookstore launches ‘AI Book Bakery’ to help you discover your reading tastes

[Financial News] A new service uses artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze readers’ online activity and reading preferences and recommend books. Readers can also browse books that have sold well at brick-and-mortar stores nationwide, alongside titles tailored to their personal tastes.
Youngpoong Bookstore said on the 6th that it has been offering its personalized book recommendation service, ‘AI Book Bakery,’ through its online store since the 3rd. Members can access it from the main screen on a PC or mobile device. Nonmembers can also take the reading-preference test, but must log in to receive book recommendations based on the results.
The personalized recommendations draw on users’ online-store activity, including books they have searched for or browsed, items added to their bookshelves or shopping carts, purchase and review histories, and the results of the reading-preference test. The ‘Popular Bakery’ course in ‘Book Bakery Walk’ separately features popular titles based on sales at brick-and-mortar stores nationwide.
The service is themed around neighborhood bakeries. After taking a reading-preference test that asks users to choose between two options, they can find out which of eight bread characters matches their type. The characters include the ‘Red Bean Bun’ (the tried-and-true type), who trusts books that have long been loved; the ‘Castella’ (the sentimental type), whose heart is moved by sentences and stories; and the ‘Salt Bread’ (the pragmatic type), who reads the pulse of the world through books.
‘My Book Bakery’ shows users’ five-tier reading level based on their monthly activity scores, their reading rhythms by day of the week, and their areas of interest and favorite authors. They can also view a reading calendar compiling their visits, purchases and reviews. Book Bakery cards reflecting their tastes can be shared with friends.
‘Book Bakery Walk’ recommends books across five courses and 17 themes, tailored to authors, genres, keywords and other criteria. ‘Book Bakery Village’ features books often chosen by readers with the same bread type, reviews they have posted, and the picks of three readers whose tastes are a good match. Users can also indicate whether a recommended book suits their tastes.
Kyobo Book Centre also operates ‘PICKS,’ an AI-powered personalized recommendation service that suggests books based on reading patterns. Bookstores are increasingly introducing AI-powered personalized book recommendation services. This appears to reflect readers’ desire to easily find books that match their tastes and interests.
Shin Ho-young, a manager on Youngpoong Bookstore’s online team, said, “We focused on creating new connections between books and readers by recommending books suited to each customer’s individual tastes and interests.”


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