Chinese Companies Move Quickly with AI Models, Eyeing Global Expansion
The World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai on July 6, 2023, highlighted the rapid progress made by Chinese companies in developing artificial intelligence (AI) models. The conference showcased how Chinese companies, such as DeepSeek and ByteDance, have quickly developed AI models that compete with OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
Baidu, known for its search engine and Ernie chatbot, announced that its generative AI-integrated Wenku platform for creating powerpoints and documents had reached 40 million paying users, with revenue up 60% from a year ago. The platform’s updated features, including AI-generated presentations based on a company’s financial filing, were rolled out to users last week.
On the corporate side, Gartner data and analytics director analyst Ben Yan estimates that over 10% of businesses in China are using AI, up from 8% six months ago. AI agents, which can automate entire processes, are also gaining traction in China. Tencent plans to integrate AI agents with its messaging and social media app WeChat, while Alibaba’s international arm has launched Accio, an AI-powered search engine for product sourcing.
The development of Chinese AI applications is creating features that are being integrated with domestic smartphones. Apple’s AI intelligence functions have yet to come to iPhone users in China, but Chinese smartphone companies such as Honor, Xiaomi, and Vivo have been able to improve user experience of AI features.
However, Chinese companies are also facing compliance hurdles, particularly when it comes to using AI-generated content commercially. Multinational corporations are more cautious due to copyright and legal issues, while local brands are more willing to take risks. Despite these challenges, Chinese companies are eyeing global expansion, with some AI applications already being used overseas.
For example, Alibaba’s Accio has reached 500,000 small business users, allowing them to quickly find wholesale products and analyze their popularity with consumers. The “next gamechanger” would be to use AI to create advertisements by putting an image of a product into any scenario. As the AI market continues to grow, Chinese companies are poised to play a significant role in shaping its future.
