As generative AI shifts from a technological competition to a user acquisition battle, Chinese tech giants are rapidly embedding large models into daily digital life. Latest data shows that the monthly active users of Baidu's "ERNIE Bot" have exceeded 200 million, becoming the first domestic large model product to enter the "200 million club." Meanwhile, Alibaba's "Qwen" application, launched in November 2025, achieved over 100 million monthly active users within two months, demonstrating strong user growth momentum.

Baidu's strategy focuses on "comprehensive integration." Its flagship search app and PC version have deeply integrated ERNIE Bot, allowing users to directly call AI to generate answers, write copy, or plan itineraries. More importantly, ERNIE Bot has connected with high-frequency consumer platforms such as JD.com, Meituan, and Ctrip, and is integrated with Baidu Map and Baidu Health, forming a "search + service + AI" closed-loop experience. For example, when a user asks "restaurants near me suitable for elderly people to eat" in the map, the AI not only recommends locations but can also jump directly to Meituan for booking or check healthy diet suggestions. In addition, Baidu also opens up a multi-model selection function, allowing users to switch between ERNIE and other AI engines in different scenarios, enhancing flexibility.

At the same time, Alibaba is accelerating Qwen's implementation through "ecological collaboration." By integrating core applications such as Taobao, Alipay, AutoNavi, and Fliggy, Qwen now supports hundreds of tasks, including ordering takeout, booking hotels, price comparisons, and government affairs processing, truly achieving "a single sentence to handle tasks." This strategy of making AI a unified interaction interface has quickly upgraded it from a tool to a lifestyle operating system.

ByteDance and Tencent are also not lagging behind, continuously increasing investments in AI infrastructure and application scenarios. ByteDance strengthens content creation and advertising placement with the Douyin large model, while Tencent empowers the WeChat ecosystem and enterprise services through the Hunyuan large model. The entire industry is shifting from "point model capability" competition to a deeper competition of "ecological integration efficiency" and "daily user usage time."

When AI is no longer limited to standalone apps, but instead hidden in every search, every order, and every conversation, the real battlefield has shifted from parameter scale to user mindset and scenario penetration. In this war without smoke, whoever can make AI an "indispensable digital companion" for users will control the discourse power of the next generation of the Internet.