[EST-SELF] The ALTools Business Division, constantly challenging by adding AI to the 'essence of ALTools' ①

Jul 29, 2026

▶ ALTools, which started with ALZip in 1999, is a national software with over 20 types of software ▶ Expanding from PC to mobile, web, and AI while maintaining the 'fast and easy' essence of ALTools ▶ Brand heritage and expansion strategies discussed by Kim Ho-yeon and Choi Yu-ri from the ALTools Business Division

▲ Kim Ho-yeon of the ALTools Business Division SW Center APP Product Department and Choi Yu-ri of the Business Division Business Development Team (Provided by ESTsoft)

You can also find us on ESTsoft's official LinkedIn.

What kind of people work at the AI service specialist company ESTsoft, and with what kind of mindset? EST-SELF is content that delivers the stories of ESTsoft through interviews with its members. From the concerns behind the visible products and services, to the way ESTsoft works, and the stories that can only be heard from within—we plan to share the colorful stories of the people of ESTsoft one by one.

The first protagonist is the ESTsoft ALTools Business Unit. Starting with 'ALZip' released in 1999, ALTools, which owns about 20 types of software including ALSee, ALPDF, and ALSong, is a national software that anyone in South Korea has used at least once, and it is a name that cannot be left out when talking about ESTsoft. Therefore, we deliver the story of the ALTools Business Unit first.

The ALTools Business Unit, Constantly Challenging by Adding AI with 'ALTools-ness'

The ALTools Business Unit is reinterpreting ALTools, which has held its place for a long time, with today's technology and language. While adding AI features to existing PC products and expanding their territory to mobile and web, they are still maintaining 'ALTools-ness'. We met with Hoyeoen Kim from the APP Product Department of the SW Center and Yuri Choi from the Business Development Team of the Business Department in the ALTools Business Unit to hear their stories directly.

Q. Hello! Please introduce yourselves for today's interview.

Hoyeon) Hello. I am Hoyeon Kim from the APP Product Department of the SW Center in the ALTools Business Unit. I am in charge of all mobile apps provided by ALTools, and recently, I have been expanding the concept of 'APP' itself to break down the boundaries of platforms and broaden our territory so that we can provide products in more diverse environments. Beyond simply developing apps, I oversee the entire product process from planning to design and QA.

Yuri) Hello. I am Yuri Choi from the Business Development Team of the Business Department in the ALTools Business Unit. I am in charge of the branding and marketing of ALTools as a whole. Starting from naming products, I am involved in copywriting and editing to translate features into user language, designing user touchpoints such as web pages or app stores, and even performance marketing to run advertising campaigns and verify them with data.

Rather than just writing promotional copy, my role is to redefine the product's strengths from the user's perspective and make it lead to actual use.

To sum it up, my job is to 'ensure that good products are well-discovered by users, easily understood, and make them want to use them.'

“ALTools is a brand with ‘heritage’.”

Q. What kind of brand is 'ALTools' that you two are building together?

Yuri) I believe most people have used the 'ALTools Series' at least once. Starting with ALZip in 1999, we have provided various products that easily and conveniently solve tasks frequently needed in users' daily lives and work, such as ALYac, ALSong, ALPDF, and ALCapture. In fact, I think the reason ALTools has been loved for such a long time is that it has quickly and easily provided the features users need. That's why, based on that strength, we are continuously reflecting the latest AI technology and user needs to sophisticatedly upgrade our services.

Just as user experience has recently shifted from PC > Mobile > Web > AI, ALTools is also expanding its products in line with the flow of the times. For example, recreating existing products that were only used on PC to fit the mobile environment and presenting them as apps, preparing functional web services that can be used directly, and moving in a direction that reduces users' repetitive tasks by utilizing AI.

In addition, subscription products have been released, such as the ALTools AI Subscription, which allows users to use ALTools' efficient AI functions with almost no limit on the number of uses, and ALTools AD-ZERO, which removes advertisements.

ALTools has launched 'ALTools AI Subscription,' a monthly subscription product, so that users can use the released AI functions more times.

ALTools offers 'ALTools AD-ZERO,' a subscription product that can remove advertisements from major products such as PC and mobile.

Hoyeon) Among them, the products we handle on mobile are ALZip, ALSong, ALPDF, and Picn2k. Based on new ideas, we are also continuously developing new apps. Most recently, we released ‘Markdot’, a markdown viewer & editor app that allows users to quickly open and view md format files created by AI such as GPT and Claude.

ALTools combines various AI functions so that anyone can use them quickly and easily. We are adding convenience to users' daily lives and work, and expanding our services to overseas markets beyond South Korea.

Q. I can feel your pride in ALTools from both of you. If you were to boast about ALTools, what story would you like to share?

Hoyeon) When many people think of ALTools, they probably think of ALZip, ALSee, and ALSong. These are products that have been with us on PC for a long time. However, ALTools is not standing still even now. We continue to introduce utilities that retain the 'fast and convenient' color of ALTools, such as ALPDF and ALCapture.

Yuri) ALTools is a brand with heritage. Products like ALZip, ALPDF, and ALCapture are not services known only to a specific generation or job group, but brands that anyone who has used a PC in Korea naturally knows.

And it doesn't just stop at being a familiar and friendly brand, but the fact that it is actually a tool continuously used in people's work and daily lives is a huge strength. We have been together with very daily tasks of users for a long time, such as compressing files, viewing and editing PDFs, capturing screens, and listening to music.

I think the greatest assets of ALTools are familiarity and trust. From a marketer's perspective, this is an incredibly big power. Normally, a new product has to build trust in the brand first, but ALTools has already naturally engraved itself as a 'brand I've used before' and 'a brand that comes to mind when needed' over time. Thanks to the users who spent that time with us, we have now reached the stage of expanding that trust not only to PC, but also to mobile, web, and AI environments.

Hoyeon) That's right. Even in the current mobile environment, we are serving apps containing various convenient features such as ALSong and ALPDF, and they are receiving a lot of love. The part I want to boast about the most is that it is not 'that ALTools we used to use in the past,' but has naturally established itself as a utility that is always by our side in daily life, from PC to mobile.

Q. While being a familiar brand can be a strength, there must also be parts that make you more cautious or find difficult. What is the most difficult aspect?

Yuri) The most difficult part is striking a balance between familiarity and novelty. As mentioned earlier, ALTools is already a familiar brand to many people, so if it changes too suddenly, it can feel unfamiliar, and on the contrary, if it only maintains its familiar look, it can feel outdated.

Recently, beyond the sophistication of PC utilities, the directions in which products are expanding, such as AI, mobile, and web, are diversifying, so I constantly contemplate the standard of 'ALTools-ness'. Just because we add AI functions, it shouldn't look difficult and complex, and just because we expand to mobile or web, the convenience that existing users knew shouldn't disappear.

Hoyeon) I agree with what Yuri said. As technology advances, products must grow, but at the same time, it is important to take care of the usability and legacy features that have accumulated over time. In other words, when making a change, we look for a direction that minimizes the inconvenience and backlash that existing users might feel. Especially these days, how to melt AI into the products is a big concern, but if we mindlessly add features, the 'fast and easy' experience that ALTools promised might fade. So, before adding a new feature, I always consider "Does this compromise ALTools-ness?" first.

Yuri) From a marketer's perspective, finding the easiest expression to connect technology, function, brand, and user language is important. For example, rather than saying "We introduced AI," we need a process of translating it into language that users can immediately understand and experience, like "You can finish repetitive document tasks faster." Finding the balance between familiarity and novelty from the perspective of user language is a difficult yet most interesting part.

Q. Then, on the other hand, are there any parts that are easy or advantageous because it is ALTools?

Hoyeon) The biggest thing is already proven trust and a solid user base. When we make a new feature, we don't have to promote it from zero; people who have already been using ALTools naturally flow in.

Also, the fact that the identity of the product is distinct is a huge advantage. Since the standard of 'fast and easy' is already in place, there is less shaking when deciding whether to add something new to the product. Thanks to user feedback and data accumulated over a long time, it is relatively easy to gauge what users want.

Yuri) ALTools takes a relatively short time to explain the product and gain trust. When you say ‘ALZip’, ‘ALPDF’, or ‘ALSong’, many people immediately get an idea of what kind of service it is. The brand ‘AL○○’ itself is a marketing asset.

Another thing is that the user base is wide, ranging from students, office workers, individuals, to business use. So when marketing, rather than emphasizing just the product name or a specific feature, we can split messages for each user's different situation.

For example, it can approach some users as a work productivity tool, some as a file management tool, and some as an app easily used on mobile. While it is a familiar brand, that's why there are so many stories that can be expanded.

ALTools AI provides 5 types of image AI functions (background removal, quality improvement, face mosaic, eraser, text extraction) and 3 types of PDF AI functions (PDF summary, PDF chat, translation) that can help improve productivity in work and daily life.

Maintaining the familiarity of the brand while adding AI and not losing novelty. ALTools is creating a balance between the two every day. And from Hoyeon and Yuri, who are at the center of it, I could feel sincerity, affection, and confidence in the products.

All of these things would never be easy. In what kind of environment and in what way are they achieving this balance? In the next episode, we will listen a little deeper into their stories, covering the way the ALTools Business Unit works, organizational culture, the most rewarding moments, and future goals.

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An expandable AI avatar SaaS service accessible from anywhere in the world utilizing AI technology
Senior care with AI
Interactive AI Avatar supports guidance, consultation, and interaction both offline and online. Expanding as a service hub without language barriers in retail, tourism, entertainment, exhibitions, manufacturing, and public sectors.
Alan Agentic with AI
Artificial intelligence multi-agent that goes beyond AI search and reaches solutions for problem solving
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API business with AI
Companies can focus on their inherent customer value by providing data and solutions using AI
as an API.
Software with AI
Background removal technology applied in ALSee Capture, like the smooth design of ESTsoft AI technology and ALTools products,
provides the utility environment that users want.

Senior care with AI
A scalable AI avatar SaaS service accessible from anywhere in the world utilizing AI technology
Senior care with AI
Interactive AI Avatar supports guidance, consultation, and interaction both offline and online. Expanding as a service hub without language barriers in retail, tourism, entertainment, exhibitions, manufacturing, and public sectors.
Alan Agentic with AI
Artificial intelligence multi-agent that goes beyond AI search and reaches solutions for problem solving
Education with AI
Expansion of educational businesses in various fields, such as the establishment of celebrity lecture video courses, production of TOEIC speaking educational content, and AI content as a fitness training instructor
Content with AI
Implementing 'moving pictures' with EST AI technology, 'face transformation, makeup application, and clothing creation' through deep learning
Creating and utilizing various AI Avatar content such as new employee analysts, announcers, etc.
API business with AI
We provide data and solutions utilizing AI through APIs to enable companies to focus on their intrinsic customer value.
Software with AI
Background removal technology applied in ALSee Capture, like the smooth design of ESTsoft AI technology and ALTools products,
provides the utility environment that users want.

Global SaaS with AI
A scalable AI avatar SaaS service accessible from anywhere in the world utilizing AI technology
Senior care with AI
Interactive AI Avatar supports guidance, consultation, and interaction both offline and online. Expanding as a service hub without language barriers in retail, tourism, entertainment, exhibitions, manufacturing, and public sectors.
Alan Agentic with AI
Artificial intelligence multi-agent that goes beyond AI search and reaches solutions for problem solving
Education with AI
Celebrity instructor video lecture creation, TOEIC speaking education content production, as a fitness training instructor
Expansion of educational businesses in various fields such as AI content
Content with AI
Implementing 'moving pictures' with EST AI technology, 'face transformation, makeup application, and clothing creation' through deep learning
Creating and utilizing various AI Avatar content such as new employee analysts, announcers, etc.
API business with AI
We provide data and solutions utilizing AI through APIs to enable companies to focus on their inherent customer value.
Software with AI
Background removal technology applied in ALSee Capture, like the smooth design of ESTsoft AI technology and ALTools products,
provides the utility environment that users want.

Senior care with AI
An expandable AI avatar SaaS service accessible from anywhere in the world utilizing AI technology
Senior care with AI
Interactive AI Avatar supports guidance, consultation, and interaction both offline and online. Expanding as a service hub without language barriers in retail, tourism, entertainment, exhibitions, manufacturing, and public sectors.
Alan Agentic with AI
Artificial intelligence multi-agent that goes beyond AI search and reaches solutions for problem solving
Education with AI
Celebrity instructor video lecture creation, TOEIC speaking education content production, as a fitness training instructor
Expansion of educational businesses in various fields such as AI content
Content with AI
Implementing 'moving pictures' by applying EST AI technology, producing various AI Avatar contents such as 'face transformation, makeup application, and clothing creation' for new employees including analysts and announcers, and utilizing them
API business with AI
Companies can focus on their inherent customer value by providing data and solutions using AI
as an API.
Software with AI
Background removal technology applied in ALSee Capture, like the smooth design of ESTsoft AI technology and ALTools products,
provides the utility environment that users want.