'So Tired I Want to Cry': China's AI Subsidy War Swamps Shops
3 months ago
- #AI
- #Subsidies
- #China
- China's tech giants launched AI-driven red envelope campaigns during Chinese New Year, offering billions in subsidies.
- Tencent, Baidu, and Alibaba competed with promotions through their AI assistants, leading to server crashes and system overloads.
- Alibaba's Qwen Chatbot campaign resulted in over 5 million orders in five hours, overwhelming milk tea shops and staff.
- Employees reported extreme stress, with some resigning due to the overwhelming workload and pressure.
- WeChat blocked the campaign's voucher links, citing disruption to its ecosystem and user experience.
- Despite challenges, Qwen extended its campaign after receiving over 10 million orders in nine hours.