ByteDance’s AI chatbot Doubao surpassed 100 million daily active users during China’s Lunar New Year holiday, marking a decisive moment in the country’s intensifying consumer AI competition. The surge came amid aggressive spending campaigns by major tech rivals, highlighting how seasonal marketing windows are becoming strategic battlegrounds for user acquisition. While the holiday spike demonstrates ByteDance’s reach, the more critical question for investors is whether that scale can be sustained beyond promotional momentum.

Spring Festival as an AI Growth Catalyst

China’s nine-day Spring Festival, which began on February 15 this year, has evolved into a prime launch period for digital products. Tech companies increasingly leverage the holiday’s massive traffic to promote AI-powered services.

According to private survey data, Doubao’s daily active users quadrupled from early February levels to exceed 100 million on February 16. The spike was likely amplified by its partnership with CCTV’s Spring Festival Gala — one of the most-watched programs in China — where Doubao reportedly handled more than 1.9 billion AI-related queries during the broadcast.

The performance underscores ByteDance’s ability to integrate media, entertainment, and AI into a unified consumer funnel. By embedding Doubao within a national cultural event, the company transformed a chatbot into a mass-market interactive tool.

Billions Spent, Mixed Results for Rivals

Alibaba and Tencent also mounted aggressive campaigns. Alibaba reportedly spent 3 billion yuan (approximately $437 million) promoting its Qwen chatbot, subsidizing user purchases such as bubble tea and other goods placed via the app. Qwen’s daily active users peaked at 30 million on New Year’s Eve — a notable increase from under 10 million earlier in February, but well below Doubao’s levels.

Tencent’s Yuanbao chatbot used a 1 billion yuan coupon strategy, boosting daily users from roughly 20 million in early February to 50 million at peak. However, both Doubao and Yuanbao saw sharper post-holiday user declines.

Survey data suggested that while Doubao gained visibility and Yuanbao benefited from cash incentives, retention remains a key challenge. Qwen, by contrast, demonstrated relatively stronger user stickiness, maintaining around 22 million daily active users after the holiday period. Alibaba’s integration of AI agent functionality may have contributed to more practical, transactional usage, including nearly 200 million product orders placed via the app during the holiday.

Retention Versus Hype in China’s AI Race

The Lunar New Year campaign illustrates the evolving economics of consumer AI in China. User acquisition at scale now requires substantial marketing expenditure or ecosystem leverage. Yet long-term valuation impact will hinge less on peak daily active users and more on sustained engagement, monetization pathways, and integration into everyday digital behavior.

For ByteDance, Doubao’s 100 million-user milestone strengthens its positioning in the generative AI race and reinforces the company’s capacity to mobilize traffic quickly. However, maintaining engagement beyond promotional events will determine whether Doubao becomes a durable platform or a seasonal phenomenon.

As China’s tech giants continue pouring capital into AI distribution strategies, investors will monitor retention metrics, monetization models, and ecosystem integration. The holiday battle may be over, but the broader AI platform war is only beginning.