In the Spring Festival of 2026, Chinese AI apps engaged in a textbook-level battle for traffic. The conclusion? Users bought with cash simply don’t stick around.
According to QuestMobile, data tracked the daily active users (DAU) of four AI apps: Doubao, Qianwen, Yuanbao, and Wenxin, before and after the Spring Festival.
Let’s take a look at the strategies employed:
On January 26, Qianwen launched a “500 million cash red envelope” campaign. On February 1, Yuanbao followed with a “1 billion cash red envelope” initiative. By February 6, Qianwen upped the ante with its “Spring Festival Treat Plan.” On February 10, Doubao kicked off its “Doubao New Year” campaign.
On New Year’s Eve and during the Spring Festival Gala, Wenxin’s DAU skyrocketed to 14.455 million, leaving the competition in the dust. Clearly, Baidu secured exclusive partnerships or significant exposure during the gala.
But what happened next?
🍃Wenxin: After hitting 14.455 million on New Year’s Eve, it quickly plummeted back to the one to two million range just a few days later, nearly returning to square one. The spike from the gala was short-lived.
🍃Qianwen: Leveraging red envelopes, it surged from a few million to a peak of 73.52 million and 84.08 million, but post-Festival, it dropped back to 55.11 million. After spending over 500 million on red envelopes, the retention rate is concerning.
🍃Yuanbao: Its 1 billion red envelope campaign brought in a peak of 23.99 million to 58.48 million, but it soon fell to 40.54 million. Despite spending the most, its results were worse than Qianwen’s.
🍃Doubao: It maintained a steady 8 million DAU throughout, avoiding the ups and downs of the spending frenzy. No extravagant cash giveaways, just consistent user engagement.
The most intriguing takeaway? It’s not who reached the highest peaks, but who remained stable.
Doubao didn’t partake in the Spring Festival cash-burning contest, yet its DAU consistently outperformed its rivals. That 8 million isn’t just a number from red envelopes; it reflects genuine user habits.
In contrast, the other three spent billions, resulting in sharp, fleeting spikes—ups and downs, with little to show for it in terms of lasting engagement.
This serves as a wake-up call for everyone involved in AI products:
1️⃣ Cash can buy downloads, but it can't guarantee retention. Users come for the money and leave when it’s gone.
2️⃣ Major events like the Spring Festival Gala can create peaks, but they don’t foster habits. Wenxin’s 14.455 million DAU looks impressive, but it’s more about media power than product strength.
3️⃣ The real moat is the "floor" of daily active users, not the "ceiling." Doubao’s 8 million floor is worth far more than Wenxin’s 14.455 million ceiling.
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