Chinese Users Line Up for AI Assistant Installations as Adoption Surges 142%

Around 50 people gathered outside the headquarters of a Chinese mobile internet company in Beijing on a recent weekday, seeking help to install an artificial intelligence assistant known as OpenClaw. These events highlight the rapid embrace of AI tools across China, with scenes repeating for days at multiple locations.

Sun Lei, a 41-year-old human resources manager, attended the Cheetah event in Beijing and said she worried about falling behind in technological developments. She hoped the OpenClaw tool would assist her in sourcing and screening resumes across various recruitment platforms.

DeepSeek, a Chinese rival to OpenAI, released an advanced AI model more than a year ago, marking a key milestone in the country's AI progress. Last month, DeepSeek released a preview of its V4 AI model, supported in part by computer chips made by Chinese tech giant Huawei. These developments underscore China's push to reduce dependence on foreign technology.

4 billion population were using generative AI as of December, according to the China Internet Network Information Center. This figure represents a 142% increase from a year earlier.

U.S. Models, as tracked by OpenRouter, an AI gateway platform. Jason Tong, a 64-year-old retiree in Shanghai and former IT engineer, has used AI chatbots such as Doubao and Kimi for everyday queries since their introduction a few years ago. In early March, he joined a blood glucose monitoring service run by a Shanghai-based company that employs an AI model to generate tailored health advice.

Tong found the service's personalized and rapid responses helpful. OpenClaw was originally created by Austrian software developer Peter Steinberger last year.

Alibaba is embedding agentic AI into its workflows, further expanding the technology's reach in business operations. Zhao Yikang, a Chinese college student in Macao, uses OpenClaw in his studies and daily life. During his internship at a real estate agency in Zhuhai, he employed the AI to automatically generate promotional videos and manage social media accounts.

Preparing for a photo services business after graduation, Yikang asked the AI to build a company website, which it generated as a fully functional site within 10 minutes for less than 5 yuan, or 70 cents. Chinese authorities issued several warnings about potential security risks with OpenClaw AI agents, such as data leaks, as installations spiked.

Despite these concerns, interest in the tool has persisted.

An AI plus national blueprint outlines steps to integrate AI into areas of life from healthcare to education. Judges in Shenzhen processed 50% more cases last year with the help of an AI tool assisting judicial processes, according to the Shenzhen court.

These initiatives reflect China's strategy to incorporate AI across various sectors for efficiency gains.