CNBC AI News, July 22nd – Once a frontrunner, DeepSeek’s luster appears to be fading, a trend reflected in its dramatic download figures.
QuestMobile’s “Q2 2025 AI Application Value Ranking” reveals a significant shift in the AI landscape. DeepSeek, which dominated the first quarter, experienced a precipitous drop in monthly downloads, plummeting from a staggering 81.113 million to just 22.589 million – a stark 72.2% decline.
While Doubao emerged as the leader in download volume, other AI-powered assistants, including Kimi, Zhipu, Wen Xiaoyan, and Tongyi, witnessed a collective decrease in monthly active users (MAU). Kelin experienced an even steeper MAU decline, exceeding 16%.
Notably, new contenders have emerged in specialized niches. In the “AI+Office” category, ima saw a remarkable 190.2% month-over-month increase in MAU, while 360 Wenku’s MAU surged by 134.5%. Within “AI+Education,” ByteDance’s Doubao Aixue boasted 7.562 million MAU, while Zuoyebang’s KuaiDui AI exceeded expectations with 10.444 million MAU.
The QuestMobile ranking, based on monthly average downloads and MAU, illuminates the evolving dynamics in the “midterm battle” for AI application dominance.
Several factors are attributed to DeepSeek’s download freefall, according to industry experts:
1. The perception of DeepSeek as a “high-value” option is eroding as competitors, including tech giants like Alibaba, ByteDance, and Baidu, introduce similar models with more competitive API pricing.
2. Increased integration of DeepSeek’s technology into other applications has led to user diversification.
3. As a general-purpose AI assistant, DeepSeek lacks deep integration and user engagement within specific verticals like office productivity, education, or entertainment, making it less sticky for users.
4. The delayed release of the highly anticipated DeepSeek-R2 model, originally slated for early May but still absent as of mid-July, has raised concerns about the company’s technological advancement capabilities and its ability to maintain a competitive edge.
Original article, Author: Tobias. If you wish to reprint this article, please indicate the source:https://aicnbc.com/5310.html
