On November 3, QuestMobile released the China Mobile Internet Autumn Report, noting that the "battle for entry points" in China's AI application market is nearing its end, and that the industry's competitive focus has shifted from expanding user scale to high-frequency interaction and user operations. The report argues that application entry points with independent closed-loop services, as well as system-level entry points capable of enabling end-to-end service delivery, are gradually gaining an advantage.

Data shows that in September 2026, Doubao and DeepSeek recorded 72.0 and 65.9 average monthly uses per user, respectively, and average monthly usage durations of 132.5 minutes and 136.7 minutes, respectively, leading other AI applications in usage frequency and duration.

In terms of quarter-over-quarter changes, the two products showed different trends. Doubao's average monthly uses per user and usage duration fell by 6.1% and 7.8%, respectively, while DeepSeek's rose by 5.8% and 9.5%, respectively, with user activity continuing to increase.

The report points out that as competition in the AI application market deepens, relying solely on traffic spending and user-scale expansion is no longer enough to create long-term advantages. Whether a product can continuously meet user needs, increase interaction frequency, and complete service delivery will become key to competition in the next stage.