ByteDance’s AI assistant uses Doubao’s large language model, allowing voice-activated smartphone users to find content, book tickets…
ByteDance, the parent company of short video platforms TikTok and Douyin, on December 1 announced an AI assistant first equipped on ZTE phones before expanding to other manufacturers.
Theo Reutersthis assistant will compete with AI tools developed by Xiaomi or Huawei. Meanwhile, Apple has not yet deployed Apple Intelligence in China, although Alibaba has announced a partnership to build artificial intelligence features for the iPhone here.
ByteDance logo at the company office in Shanghai. Image:Reuters
ByteDance’s AI voice assistant will be available on ZTE’s Nubia M153, a mid-range smartphone priced at 3,499 CNY (495 USD) and is available for pre-order in limited quantities.
ByteDance said it has no plans to develop its own smartphone and is in talks with other manufacturers to integrate AI assistants into the product. Currently Doubao, its chatbot launched in 2023, is China’s most popular AI application with 157 million monthly users, according to data analysis company QuestMobile. DeepSeek ranked second with 143 million users.
In August, a16z venture capital fund also ranked Doubao as the fourth most popular generative AI application globally, after ChatGPT, Gemini and AI Gallery (an application developed by Google, allowing direct experience on Android devices without an Internet connection).