(Wired) – ByteDance’s Doubao app has overtaken DeepSeek, proving that user-friendly design often matters more than having the most advanced AI model.

Doubao, which launched in 2023, was deliberately designed to be personable. Unlike most popular AI chatbots, Doubao’s app icon features a human-looking avatar—a female cartoon character with a short bob that greets people when they open the app for the first time. The name Doubao literally translates to “steamed bun with bean paste,” mimicking “the nickname a user would give to an intimate friend,” ByteDance vice president Alex Zhu said in a public speech in 2024.

Compared to Western AI apps, “there’s a warmer, more welcoming feel,” says Dermot McGrath, a Shanghai-based investor and technologist. (Read More)