Their downloads have fallen 72% and a rival begins to take their place

Who has followed the frantic race of the AI will remember the “moment Chatgpt” of Deepseek: That point where an almost unknown name jumps to the global debate. The Chinese chatbot sneaked into the conversations of Silicon Valley and there were those who presented it as The greatest threat that The American technological ecosystem had seen Asia out of generative.

All this stir had reasons. Deepseek circulated with striking performance comparisons and with the promise, always attributed to the company itself, having reached those results with a fraction of the budget and the calculation power of its western competitors. About six months have passed since that peak of attention. Then we ask ourselves: at what point is now?

The Deepseek phenomenon has begun to lose strength. As SCMP collectsa Questmobile report with National Business Daily reveals that its monthly discharges collapsed 72% in the second quarter, staying at 22.6 million on average. Just a few months ago, the thrust of its V3 and R1 models had made it the most disruptive alternative in the market.

Although it continues to lead the Chinese ranking with 170 million monthly active users, that number has fallen 9% compared to the previous quarter. Bytedance has taken advantage of the situation with Doubaoits own chatbot, which already exceeds Deepseek in downloads (29.8 million per month) and grows strongly in active users, 30% more until reaching 130 million.

Deepseek’s situation is not an isolated case. Other general chatbots are also losing traction, such as Yuanbao (Tencent) or Kimi (MoNshot AI), which have seen their downloads descend by more than 50%. Everything indicates that Chinese users are prioritizing applications of AI oriented to concrete tasks: office tools, study assistants or educational platforms.

Productivity and study: where is the growth now. The interest of Chinese users is moving towards AI applications with direct utility in the day to day. Office tools such as IMA.Copilot (Tencent) and 360 Wenku (360 Security Technology) have grown strongly: +190% and +135% in active users in the last quarter. In education something similar happens. Kuaidui AI (Zuoyebang) and Doubao Aixue (Bytedance) have already sneaked among the six most used AI apps in the country.

Doubao offers the possibility of having personalized avatars

That migration is also seen in user flows. The report cites the case of the Baidu search app, which integrates Ernie Bot and Deepseek models: 59% of those who abandoned the Depseek app in May ended up using Ernie Bot the next month. An indication that users are looking for platforms with several combined services, not a closed experience.

To this context is added another setback: the delay of the R2 model. Deepseek had planned to launch it in May as R1 relay, but it was postponed mainly because the CEO considered that the model was not yet ready, a circumstance aggravated by US restrictions. to the nvidia chips, According to Reuters and The Information. Now that H20 chips sales could be resumed soonDeepseek would have room to rearm your road map.

Half a year later, the big issue. Deepseek passed from a global surprise to a reference that disturbed Silicon Valley. Today a more demanding market faces, in which the conversation is no longer enough: productivity, learning and integrated ecosystems mark the step. When R2 arrives (and if it arrives with the promised technical muscle), we will know if that “moment” was a flash or the beginning of a second life.

Images | Xataka with chatgpt

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