ByteDance’s AI chatbot Doubao has become the most popular AI app in China, surpassing competitors like DeepSeek. By August, Doubao had over 157 million monthly active users, compared to DeepSeek’s 143 million, according to QuestMobile. Venture capital firm a16z ranked Doubao as the fourth-most-popular generative AI app globally, following ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini.

Doubao first launched in 2023, and its user-friendly design helped it regain prominence even after DeepSeek initially gained international attention.

User-Friendly Design Drives Doubao’s Popularity

Doubao’s design focuses on approachability. Its app icon features a female cartoon avatar, and its name translates to “steamed bun with bean paste,” giving it a friendly, intimate feel. ByteDance vice president Alex Zhu explained that the name mimics “the nickname a user would give to an intimate friend.”

Dermot McGrath, a Shanghai-based investor, noted, “ChatGPT, for example, feels like a tool you open to complete a task and then close again. Doubao has more features and a more colorful user interface that keeps you interested longer.”

Doubao is marketed to users who may prefer voice and video interactions over text, including older generations. Irene Zhang from ChinaTalk said, “Some of the earliest Doubao users I heard of were my friends’ grandmothers and aunties.”

Multimodal Features and Social Integration Boost Engagement

Doubao combines multiple functions in a single app. It allows text, audio, and video chat; image, spreadsheet, deck, podcast, and short video creation; and the ability for users to customize AI agents for others to use. Integration with Douyin allows Doubao to attract users from the video platform and send traffic back to it.

Wei Sun, principal AI analyst at Counterpoint Research, said, “It’s where convenience meets dopamine, especially for young generations. That light, low-effort user experience is exactly what drives social sharing and sticky engagement in China.”

Users frequently share Doubao-generated images on social media, and the app’s text-to-speech function allows influencers to create content in 20 regional dialects. Irene Zhang noted, “There are these viral videos on Chinese internet of people talking to [Doubao] and essentially having it say voice-based memes.”

ByteDance’s Ecosystem and Pricing Strategy Expand Reach

Doubao benefits from ByteDance’s expertise in building viral apps. The company’s experience with platforms like TikTok and Douyin helps it rapidly test features, iterate, and drive users between apps. DeepSeek lacks this consumer-facing platform experience.

QuestMobile data from August shows nearly 40% of users who left DeepSeek switched to Doubao. ByteDance has also made Doubao accessible by pricing its main model 99.3% below the industry average for business users, making AI available to individuals, small businesses, educators, and content creators.

Doubao Extends Beyond Smartphones to Smart Devices

ByteDance is expanding Doubao’s reach by embedding it into smart glasses, cars, and other devices. The app is being developed as an AI companion or in-car assistant, allowing it to extend beyond smartphones and computers.

PHOTO: NIKKEI ASIA/KOHEI FUJIMURA

This article is a summary of two original articles. The full versions can be read at the following links:

https://www.wired.com/story/bytedance-doubao-chatbot-popularity/

https://counterpointresearch.com/en/insights/post-insight-research-notes-blogs-why-bytedances-doubao-is-1-chatbot-in-china