The search box is the information portal of this era, and AI is the key to redefining the portal.

At the 2025 I/O conference, Google officially launched a more powerful "AI Mode" mode for Google Search by integrating the Gemini 2.5 model, which is an AI-reconstructed version of its search results page. After users search for a question, they will first see a structured AI answer generated by the Gemini model, rather than a list of links. The model directly generates a summary answer, which is displayed in the form of pictures and text, and provides relevant web pages on the right.

At the conference, Google also demonstrated "multi-round interactive search" and "search task packages", which make search behavior no longer a question-and-answer process, but an intelligent process with contextual understanding and task decomposition capabilities.

This is very similar to Quark's "deep search". It is not difficult to see that Google has placed "AI Mode" in the default search interface of billions of users around the world, trying to embed AI capabilities into every search habit, rather than creating an AI portal from scratch.

While Google is rewriting the search experience, China's AI browser track is also evolving rapidly.

In the past, we were used to input keywords in the browser and open web pages one by one to find answers. Now, the new generation of AI browsers represented by Tencent QQ Browser and Quark AI Browser are reconstructing this process.

One enters the market as a "super assistant", while the other focuses on "deep search". The two giants are quietly competing in the competition for terminal entrances. What are the differences? Who will come out on top and define your future?

01

Tencent QBot VS Quark Super Frame

The upgraded QQ browser will highlight the "QBot" intelligent dialogue entrance on the homepage. After entering a question in the search box, QBot will display the AI ​​answer and web search results side by side, and the width of both sides can be adjusted by dragging. At the same time, QBot's online answers are also connected to high-quality content sources such as WeChat public accounts, making the answer information more credible.

For example, when a user takes a photo or screenshot and clicks the "camera" icon, QBot can automatically identify the image and perform retrieval or analysis. QBot also has a variety of built-in tools: in office scenarios, it can automatically convert document formats or extract text; in learning scenarios, it can answer math and chemistry questions step by step and polish essays.

Quark has upgraded the search box to an "AI Super Box" that supports text, voice and image input, and added a "deep search" button. Quark emphasizes that the system will actively analyze and decompose user needs, and provide more reliable answers through the iterative retrieval process of "think → search → verify → think again".

At the same time, Quark will also launch the "Deep Search PRO" mode, which can compress the processing time of complex problems from days to minutes and output structured, professional results.

Next, based on the above functional features, we will test the performance of the two in different scenarios:

• Graphic interpretation: In terms of image and text recognition, QBot supports multimodal input, and users can directly take photos or upload pictures to ask questions. Quark's "AI camera" can also recognize the subject and text. Attached is a functional diagram of Huawei's recently released Hongmeng computer product. QBot provides a detailed text interpretation of each module node in the diagram, and also supports one-click generation of mind maps. Quark AI Assistant is suitable for quickly obtaining core information but does not support mind map export. Overall, Quark interprets the content of the picture relatively quickly, while QBot will integrate more text information and data sources in its answers.

  
  

• College entrance examination study: For the college entrance examination preparation scenario, Quark provides a special "Quark College Entrance Examination": when candidates ask questions related to volunteer filling, Quark will give answers based on official admission brochures, expert videos and other authoritative information. QQ Browser has launched the "AI College Entrance Examination" intelligent body, which can generate a plan for strong, stable and guaranteed volunteers based on the province, score, etc. entered by the user. When inputting the question "I am a candidate in Beijing. According to the rules of the Chinese composition questions in the college entrance examination in the past five years, I will analyze and summarize the high-frequency topics and writing frameworks, and generate an argumentative essay outline with the theme of 'balance between science and technology and humanities'", we can see that the two have different focuses on personalized tutoring: Quark's answers are more focused on information integration, while QBot focuses on solution recommendations.

• Common sense in life: In response to the popular science question of "analyzing the nutritional differences between salted egg yolk and red bean paste dumplings, and summarizing the purchase recommendations for diabetic patients", a special medical intelligent agent of the Quark AI browser takes on such medical questions, called "Aqua - Your Family Health Consultant". Aqua's answers are mainly sourced from professional medical journals and websites, and the content is reviewed and proofread three times, which is both scientific and rigorous. Tencent's QBot focuses on the rapid integration of ecological content, and is known for its concise conclusions and lightweight interactions, which meet the needs of daily quick queries, but its professional depth is relatively weak.

02

Why do giants invest heavily in building AI browsers?

Nowadays, the browser is no longer just a window to the web page, it is becoming everyone's "smart co-pilot".

On this basis, Tencent is more inclined to build an AI native application operating system. Behind the QBot of QQ Browser is Tencent's "dual model architecture": the Hunyuan large model provides understanding and generation, and DeepSeek is used for real-time search and extraction. This combination improves semantic accuracy and real-time response.

Tencent is turning QBot into a super assistant that integrates "browsing + tools + search + creation". By integrating resources such as WeChat, public accounts, and documents, QBot can obtain the context of user behavior and achieve multiple rounds of understanding of information intent.

More importantly, Tencent has incorporated QQ Browser into the "Yuanbao" AI matrix, forming another AI portal outside of WeChat, and has linked QBot with Sogou Input Method, Tencent Docs, etc., to achieve a full-link closed loop of users' daily AI interactions. Ma Huateng himself has also publicly emphasized that he will "take AI as a long-term strategy and invest at all costs."

As an important chess piece in the giant AI camp, Quark's deep search strategy and agent-based path have formed a unique "super portal" positioning. Quark comes from the Alibaba system, relying on powerful search engine traffic and Alibaba's self-developed large model, and is positioned as Alibaba's AI flagship application. In 2024, Quark successively launched the "super search box" and "full-scenario system-level AI" functions, and in early 2025, it upgraded its brand slogan to "AI all-round assistant for 200 million people."

Its latest strategy is to use "Deep Search" and "Deep Search PRO" to connect AI Agent ideas and upgrade search services to a closed loop of "one search, multiple rounds of thinking". Quark claims that the new function integrates all the capabilities of mainstream intelligent agents in Silicon Valley, and can handle problems in multiple modes, as well as have the ability of autonomous reasoning and precise retrieval.

In other words, Quark sees AI as the core of reshaping search, and provides users with structured, traceable answers through deep thinking of models + retrieval. For users, Quark also combines intelligent search with content ecology: for example, the "deep search" mode will indicate reference links to ensure that the answers can be verified.

In general, Quark's layout logic is to build a super agent at the search entrance, and is committed to allowing a single search box to solve complex problems. Its "deep search" emphasizes task decomposition, active thinking, and multiple rounds of verification, and it has initially possessed the prototype of an Agent intelligent body.

Tencent builds the ecosystem mastermind, while Quark polishes the search executor. One is betting on platform collaboration, while the other focuses on the closed loop of Agent. The two have different logics, but the same goal: to occupy the information portal in the AI ​​era.

03

The global war of AI browsers:

Has China entered the first echelon?

Looking around the world, from Arc browser to Perplexity, more and more browsers are no longer satisfied with simply displaying web pages.

For example, Arc, an early innovative browser, launched an AI feature suite called "Arc Max". Users can press shortcut keys to ask AI questions (Ask on Page) on any page, or hover the mouse over a link to generate a quick summary (5-second preview function). In addition, Arc supports the direct integration of ChatGPT in the search command bar, so that users can call conversational AI while browsing, which enhances the convenience of interaction. Arc's design focuses on productivity and creative browsing experience, but currently focuses on desktop platforms.

There is also a browser launched by Perplexity, which started with AI search and is positioned as an AI alternative to Chrome. Comet allows the browser to understand the user's search history and current tab information, allowing users to query contextual content with natural language instructions: for example, users can ask "What article about sea otters did I read last Tuesday?" Comet can go back and directly give relevant content. Its goal is to turn browsing into an "intelligent research assistant" to reduce users' keyword guessing and information retrieval steps.

The privacy-focused Brave browser has launched a built-in AI assistant called "Leo". Leo allows users to have conversations within the current page, summarize webpage content, or generate new text without leaving the page. It is compatible with commonly used files such as PDF and Google Docs, and can automatically extract and analyze document information. Brave places special emphasis on chat privacy: Leo's conversations are not stored or used as training models, and users can use them without logging in. This practice reflects the focus on security when introducing AI into the browser.

It is not a traditional You.com search engine browser, but its AI search mode is worth referring to. You.com provides a highly personalized experience: users can vote or block each search result to train system preferences and obtain customized recommendations; at the same time, the platform removes advertisements and focuses on privacy protection. You.com also has built-in multiple creative AIs: such as YouChat for question-and-answer chat, YouWrite for text generation, and YouImagine for image generation. Users can complete search, conversation, and creation on one platform.

Browsers and search engines around the world are rapidly becoming AI-enabled. In particular, Perplexity Comet already has the features of an "AI Agent browser" such as contextual memory and web page understanding, and is very close to being the user's "intelligent co-pilot".

Tencent and Quark in China have actually entered the first echelon of global AI browsers in terms of functional integration, Chinese comprehension, and ecological linkage. From tools to platforms, and then to AI operating systems, domestic AI browsers have reached the world's leading level.

The AI ​​browser war between Tencent and Quark is not just a battle of product strength, but also a deeper logic: whoever can occupy the user's "thinking starting point" first can define the "flow destination" of information.

In this era of content overload, AI browsers are trying to shift from "finding content" to "understanding intent" and from "displaying web pages" to "active feedback." This will not only be a browser innovation, but also a change in the way information is interacted with.

Portal rewriting is accelerating. Who can build a "super portal" in the AI ​​era?