Is China ready to pay for AI? ByteDance’s Doubao loses 6 million users
ByteDance risks throwing away its lead in China’s fierce artificial intelligence consumer race by monetising too early, according to analysts, after its flagship chatbot Doubao shed millions of users following a sneak peek at paid-subscription tiers. The assessment follows a 6.1 million drop in Doubao’s monthly active users (MAUs) in May – a rare slump for the app since its 2023 launch – after it teased its first-ever subscription options, according to data released on Wednes
The tech giant’s paywall gamble may have backfired after teasing its paid-subscription options for flagship chatbot Doubao saw users bolt
The 1.81 per cent month-on-month decline was a “worrying sign” for the TikTok owner in a competitive domestic market where user numbers dictated “everything”, Li Bangzhu, founder of Aicpb.com, said.
“The era of free AI services in China is still far from over, so Doubao definitely might be monetising too early,” Li said.
In early May, ByteDance updated Doubao’s iOS App Store page to reveal new subscription tiers. The standard paid plan starts at 68 yuan (US$10) per month, or 688 yuan per year. The premium “professional” plan was priced at 500 yuan per month, or 5,088 yuan per year.
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