Core Insights - The AI application market is experiencing rapid growth, with mobile and PC active user counts reaching 729 million and 200 million respectively by September 2025 [3][4][20] - Major companies are shifting focus from parameter competition to ecosystem collaboration, optimizing models to meet customer needs and expand application scenarios [4][9] - The In-App AI plugin model has become the leading growth driver, with 31 out of the top 50 AI applications being plugins [4][5][24] Market Overview - By September 2025, the mobile AI application market has surpassed 700 million users, with native apps, In-App AI, and mobile manufacturer AI assistants reaching 287 million, 706 million, and 535 million users respectively [20][9] - The growth of mobile applications is supported by a stable head of native apps, while the PC web applications face challenges, with over 75% experiencing growth difficulties [5][60] User Engagement - The average usage time for native AI applications is 117.7 minutes, significantly higher than In-App AI plugins at 31 minutes and mobile manufacturer AI assistants at 5.3 minutes [6][24] - The top AI applications show a stable user base, with notable growth in vertical applications like AQ and Doubao, which have seen substantial increases in active users [6][38] Competitive Landscape - The competitive landscape is solidifying, with nearly 60% of native apps experiencing negative growth, indicating a narrowing window for new entrants [31][34] - Vertical applications are thriving, with AQ, Doubao, and Jimeng AI showing impressive growth rates of 83.4%, 15.7%, and 12.1% respectively [38][40] Ecosystem Development - The MCP services have reached 9,384, facilitating ecosystem collaboration and marking a new phase of commercialization in the AI industry [4][9][80] - Companies are focusing on integrating AI into business scenarios, enhancing user experience through seamless service delivery [70][72] Future Trends - The AI market is transitioning from a focus on broad capabilities to specialized, efficient solutions, with a significant increase in model updates and iterations [16][18] - The integration of payment capabilities is seen as a key milestone for the commercialization of AI applications, paving the way for an "AI as a service" economy [85][87]

Core Insights - The AI industry is experiencing a shift from explosive growth to a new phase characterized by user preference changes and declining traffic for many vertical tools [4][5][59]. Group 1: User Trends and Market Dynamics - General-purpose AI models are squeezing the survival space of specialized tools, leading to a decline in traffic for AI writing and content tools by 12% and 8% over the past three months [5][33]. - Video and voice generation products are also facing growth bottlenecks, with video generation growth dropping from nearly 20% at the beginning of the year to just 1% [6][37]. - In the overseas market, while many vertical products are cooling off, travel-related products like Mindtrip have seen a remarkable increase of 153% in the last three months [7][40]. - The "plugin" model has become mainstream in the domestic market, with an average of 2.1 AI features integrated into each app [8][54]. - The total number of active mobile AI users in China reached 680 million, but native app growth is slow, with a significant decline in PC web applications [9][54]. Group 2: Competitive Landscape - AI search remains the leading segment, with over half of the users lost by DeepSeek migrating to Baidu [10][58]. - The impact of AI on traditional industries is evident, with significant traffic declines in sectors like education technology, where platforms like Quora saw nearly a 50% drop year-over-year [11][59]. - OpenAI dominates the market, with a clear advantage over smaller players, leading to a pronounced "Matthew effect" where the rich get richer [12][13]. Group 3: Performance Metrics - The overall traffic for global AI tools has stabilized after rapid growth earlier in the year, with a notable decline in many vertical categories [13][24]. - The traffic for AI writing tools has been consistently declining, with many well-known tools like Jasper and Wordtune experiencing significant drops [33][34]. - The travel category has shown remarkable resilience, with a 90% increase in traffic over the last 12 weeks, likely driven by seasonal demand [40][41]. Group 4: Future Outlook - The industry is moving towards embedding AI deeply into existing workflows and applications, rather than relying solely on standalone AI apps [60][62]. - The expectation for AI development is shifting from merely increasing model size to focusing on practical usability and user experience [63][66]. - The future of AI innovation is anticipated to be more complex and diversified, with a focus on genuinely useful applications [68].