China's AI Use Rate in Daily Life Is Twice as High as the US

Generative AI is playing an increasingly important role and becoming ubiquitous in many aspects of daily life in China. From education, entertainment, healthcare applications to e-commerce and customer service, AI has permeated every field, changing the way people interact and solve problems.

In that context, the AI ​​chatbot Doubao developed by tech giant ByteDance has emerged as a powerful tool, attracting attention and widespread use from users.

With its superior natural language processing capabilities, smooth communication, and personal customization, this chatbot has quickly gained global popularity. It has now risen to the second most used AI application in the world, thanks to China's advanced technology ecosystem and huge user market.

The strong growth of ByteDance's AI chatbot not only reflects its huge investment in the AI ​​field, but also shows that China is increasingly leading the global AI technology race.

"I just had a fight with my wife, how can we make up?" - a 37-year-old office worker in Dalian city, northeastern China, confided. Whenever he encounters difficulties in life, he always turns to his AI assistant, not only as a tool, but also as a trusted friend, ready to listen and give advice.

Launched in June 2023, the Doubao chatbot offers a unique conversational experience with the ability to advise and communicate through multiple virtual avatars. The app allows users to customize different roles, from a friendly English conversation partner to a romantic companion.

Doubao's unique feature is its diverse character simulations, inspired by both fictional characters and celebrities. Users can interact with "virtual versions" of Elon Musk or even characters from Journey to the West, creating a world of unlimited communication between reality and virtuality.

The app is available to the public for free, giving it wide reach without worrying about costs. For commercial use, the basic model costs less than 1% of its popular US competitor ChatGPT, giving users a significant economic advantage.

According to a report from Chinese research firm Aicpb.com, Doubao is currently the most popular AI app in the country, attracting 51.3 million users as of October. Globally, Doubao holds the second place in popularity, although it still has a large gap compared to ChatGPT, which leads the pack with 258.16 million users worldwide.

In the list of top 10 global AI applications, many applications come from countries like Türkiye, but it is worth noting that most of these products are built on the model platform of OpenAI - the developer of ChatGPT.

In complete contrast, applications from China, typically Doubao, use domestic development models, affirming the country's technological autonomy and strong development of the domestic AI industry.

In September, Ant Group, a subsidiary of Alibaba Group Holding, officially launched its AI assistant Zhixiaobao, a major step forward in the group's AI field. Zhixiaobao not only seamlessly integrates with Alipay - China's extremely popular online payment platform - but also supports connections with many external applications.

With this chatbot, users can easily hail a taxi, pay their mobile phone bills, or even order food and drinks from popular brands like Starbucks. This is proof that AI is increasingly changing the way people interact with everyday services.

China is still in the process of closing the gap in AI technology with the US. Alibaba Group Chairman Joseph Tsai admitted in April that Chinese companies could be about two years behind their US rivals.

However, China has been a pioneer in developing practical applications of technology. By leveraging deep connectivity between multiple platforms and services, the country has created a superior digital ecosystem that provides a more convenient and seamless experience for millions of users.

According to a survey this year by Vention, a US-based company, China’s AI adoption rate is far ahead of other advanced economies. While the US and other developed countries maintain an adoption rate of around 30%, China has reached a rate of nearly 60%.

At the same time, according to iiMedia Research's forecast, the generative AI market in China is expected to grow strongly, reaching a scale of 27.67 billion yuan (equivalent to 3.81 billion USD) by 2028. This shows the strategic investment and explosive potential of AI in the world's second largest economy.

Many Chinese people are willing to share sensitive information or connect personal data to AI applications without feeling concerned about disclosing this data.

"Although privacy protection measures and anonymization technology have become more widespread, Chinese people are still not completely assured about personal data security, as data leaks have happened too frequently in the past," said Li Zhihui, an expert from Japan's Nomura Research Institute.

Competition among AI services in China is becoming increasingly fierce. According to the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, as of June 2023, the country had 5,734 AI companies, second only to the United States.

Besides giants like Alibaba, many prominent startups are also developing their own unique AI models, contributing to enriching this potential market.

Currently, big companies are having to lower prices to compete and attract users, which reflects that profit is still a rather distant goal for them.

As Chinese AI companies look to expand into international markets, they will face compliance with other countries' regulations and legal requirements.

AI regulation in China focuses on different issues than in other major markets. A law passed last year in China restricts AI services from generating feedback that could be critical of the government.

Meanwhile, Europe has adopted strict regulations to protect personal information, while the US and Japan focus on copyright issues and the risk of information leakage.

Regarding this issue, Li Zhihui from Nomura Research Institute commented: "If companies can demonstrate compliance with local regulations, there will be emerging countries willing to embrace China's AI, possibly through e-commerce partners, because these services are not only cost-effective but also easy to use."