China’s generative AI user base crosses 700 million, covering over half the population

By the end of June, China's user base for generative artificial intelligence had surpassed 700 million, making up more than half of the nation's population. This marks a 16% increase since the end of 2025, when there were 602 million such users, with a penetration rate of 42.8%. The bulk of AI usage in China is through question-and-answer services, with 76% of users employing the technology to seek answers.

About half of users - 48% - used AI tools for image or video processing, while 38% utilized it for text processing and 33% for work summaries, meeting notes, or presentations.

AI adoption has transcended software applications, as 39% of users purchased smart hardware online within the past six months. Domestically-developed AI labs have also made significant strides, launching trillion-parameter open-weight models this year. China's digital infrastructure supporting AI computation has expanded rapidly, with intelligent computing capacity surging by 177% to 2,185 eflops as of the end of June.

These impressive figures underscore China's leading position in AI adoption compared to the United States, according to a recent Morgan Stanley survey. An impressive 80% of Chinese respondents reported using AI for personal purposes at least once a week, compared to 54% in the US. The Morgan Stanley report attributes China's advantage to the seamless integration of AI into everyday platforms for shopping, messaging, search, and entertainment, rather than superior model performance alone.