ByteDance’s Doubao AI chatbot (Source: Shutterstock)
ByteDance’s AI chatbot Doubao drew more than 100 million daily active users (DAU) during China’s Lunar New Year holiday, emerging as the clear winner in a fierce user-acquisition battle among the country’s biggest tech firms, according to private survey data.
Doubao surpassed 100 million DAUs on February 16, roughly quadrupling its user base compared to early February levels, according to data from AICPB.com, which tracks Chinese AI chatbot performance, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
The surge was likely boosted by Doubao’s partnership with China Central Television’s Spring Festival Gala, one of the country’s most-watched television programs, broadcast on February 16. ByteDance said Doubao handled more than 1.9 billion AI-related queries during the show.
The Spring Festival — China’s longest and busiest holiday period — began on February 15 this year and lasted nine days. The festive season has increasingly become a critical window for tech companies to promote consumer-facing AI products and compete for market share.
Meanwhile, Alibaba Group spent 3 billion yuan ($436.95 million) promoting its Qwen chatbot app, subsidizing purchases such as bubble tea through the platform. Despite the heavy spending, Qwen’s DAU peaked at 30 million on New Year’s Eve — the lowest among the three major chatbots surveyed. In early February, Qwen had fewer than 10 million daily active users.
Tencent rolled out a 1 billion yuan coupon campaign to promote its Yuanbao chatbot, helping the app grow from 20 million DAUs in early February to a peak of 50 million on February 16.
After the holiday peak, all three apps saw declines in daily active users. Yuanbao experienced the steepest drop once its incentive campaign ended, while Qwen posted the smallest decline and retained 22 million users by February 21.
According to AICPB, Doubao benefited most from high visibility during the televised gala, while Yuanbao attracted users quickly through cash incentives but struggled with retention. Qwen demonstrated stronger staying power by emphasizing practical, everyday applications.
Ahead of the holiday, Alibaba introduced AI agent functions to Qwen. During the festive period, users placed nearly 200 million orders — including groceries, flight tickets, and beverages — through the app, according to AICPB data.
