QuestMobile: China’s AI-native apps reach 499 million monthly active users

China’s AI-native apps recorded 499 million monthly active users by May 2026, up 85.4% from a year earlier, according to QuestMobile’s 2026 first-half report released on July 14. Doubao, Qwen and DeepSeek formed the top tier, with 382 million, 167 million and 130 million monthly active users, respectively.

The report measured AI-native apps separately from AI plugins and built-in AI applications developed by device makers. Users of AI-native apps averaged 92.7 uses per month and 183 minutes of monthly usage time. Doubao also added 13.78 million users in June compared with May. [IT Home, in Chinese]