The Numbers: China’s AI App User Landscape
A newly released ranking of domestic AI software users reveals the current market landscape:
| Rank | Product | User Base | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Doubao | 345M | ByteDance-owned, leading voice interaction |
| 2 | Tongyi Qianwen | 166M | Alibaba-owned, powered by Qwen models |
| 3 | DeepSeek | 127M | Standalone app, standout code and math reasoning |
| 4 | Ernie Bot | 5-13M (App) | 200M+ embedded in Baidu Search |
| 5 | Tencent Yuanbao | 40M+ | Integrated into Tencent ecosystem |
The most noteworthy aspect isn’t the ranking itself, but the speed at which Tongyi Qianwen jumped from millions to 166 million users in just one year—a direct result of Alibaba’s dual-track open-source plus closed-source Qwen strategy.
The Qianwen App Is No Longer Just a Chat Box
The 2026 Qianwen App has far exceeded the scope of a “chatbot.” After an in-depth experience, it is evolving toward an AI operating system.
Document processing is currently its most mature feature module. After uploading a PDF, the app doesn’t just extract text—it can:
- Cross-page data correlation analysis
- Automatically restructure tables into Markdown format
- Generate structured summaries for long documents (with hierarchical table of contents)
- Ask follow-up questions about document content, rather than ending after a one-time read
Coding capability is powered by Qwen3/3.5 models. In a real-world Python data analysis scenario: upload a CSV file, describe requirements in natural language (“analyze the sales trends over the past 12 months and identify anomalous months”), and the app automatically generates complete Jupyter Notebook-style code covering data cleaning, visualization, and anomaly detection—then runs it directly and outputs results.
For image understanding, photograph and upload a math problem or circuit diagram, and Qianwen can recognize and solve it step by step. However, compared to GPT-4o, there remains a gap in visual reasoning for complex scenes—an area where Qwen needs to catch up.
The Spillover Effect of Qwen’s Open-Source Ecosystem
Behind Qianwen’s rapid growth is the spillover effect of the Qwen open-source ecosystem.
- Qwen3/3.5 series models have surpassed 5 million downloads on Hugging Face and ModelScope
- Open-source models consistently rank near the top of the Arena AI open-source leaderboard
- Numerous third-party applications and frameworks (such as LangChain, LlamaIndex) prioritize Qwen model support
- Enterprise users can validate solutions with the open-source version before seamlessly switching to the closed-source Tongyi Qianwen App
This “open-source customer acquisition → closed-source monetization” path is becoming the standard playbook for Chinese AI companies.
Landscape Assessment: Three-Way Competition
China’s AI application market has formed a three-strong landscape:
- Doubao (ByteDance): First in user base, advantages in voice interaction and entertainment scenarios, but deep work capabilities are questioned
- Tongyi Qianwen (Alibaba): Second in user base, strongest B-side ecosystem, highly active open-source community
- DeepSeek: Third in user base but fastest growth, breaking through with cost-effectiveness and coding capabilities
Ernie Bot’s standalone app with only 5-13 million users reflects Baidu’s dilemma in AI consumer products—despite 200M+ usage embedded in Baidu Search, this is more “passive usage” than “active choice.”
Action Recommendations
- Individual users: If you want a comprehensive experience and document processing, Tongyi Qianwen is a solid choice; if you prefer voice interaction, Doubao is smoother
- Developers: Qwen’s open-source ecosystem is mature, suitable for secondary development and private deployment
- Enterprise decision-makers: Tongyi Qianwen’s B-side services (API, private deployment) offer top-tier cost-effectiveness in China, worth evaluating as a first-choice solution
- Investment perspective: The user acquisition battle at the AI application layer is still accelerating; current rankings don’t represent the endgame. DeepSeek’s growth rate deserves continued attention