Users hate them, companies can't skip them: inside every app's AI-assistant arms race
创业邦 · wechat · 2026-10-15
Jingxiang Studio interviews product managers on why every app now ships an AI assistant: WeChat is testing the 'Xiaowei' agent, China Mobile put its assistant front-and-center, and even床垫 brands and range hoods have AI. QuestMobile data shows embedded AI plugins' usage growth in 2025 ran 2.8x that of standalone AI apps.
The core tension: users find most assistants useless ('AI fatigue'), yet companies can't opt out — AI opens a new conversational user path, and falling behind Notion-style disruption is scarier than bad reviews. With API prices down to under a third of last year's levels, trial costs are low. Winners like Meitu (AI try-on, AI video reviving growth) show real value is possible, but most teams are still iterating on where AI belongs — before it possibly becomes a global entry point across all apps.
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