Why did WeChat, which has always been cautious, embrace DeepSeek at lightning speed this time?

By the way, today, the most noteworthy thing is that WeChat search has been connected to DeepSeek.

To put it simply, some netizens have discovered that WeChat is currently gray-scale testing the connection to DeepSeek R1. When you enter the search bar at the top of the chat interface, an "AI Search" entrance will appear on the page. After clicking, an input box will appear with two options: "Quick Q&A" and "Deep Thinking". "Deep Thinking" uses the DeepSeek-R1 model.

Tencent also confirmed this information, saying, " While WeChat Soso is using the Hunyuan large model to enrich AI search, it has recently officially started grayscale testing to connect to DeepSeek . Users within the grayscale test range can search for the entry at the top of the dialog box and see the words " AI Search". After clicking to enter, they can use the full-blooded version of the DeepSeek-R1 model for free, providing a more diversified search experience."

Some people may ask, isn’t this normal? Aren’t there more than 100 companies in China that have integrated DeepSeek into their products? Isn’t it normal for Tencent WeChat to integrate into DeepSeek?‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍

But Bajie thinks that this is not a simple matter. After all, WeChat is the APP with the largest number of 2C users and the highest stickiness in China, with more than 1.3 billion monthly active users and 1.1 billion daily active users. WeChat's mobile operating system-like application has been connected to DeepSeek, which shows that the universality of AI has further penetrated and accelerated. At the same time, this also brings DeepSeek one step closer to the direction of China's AI version of Android.

If WeChat embraces DeepSeek and becomes popular quickly, it will also bring pressure to other peers: for large companies like ByteDance and Alibaba, it is also worth considering how to allocate their own large models and the strength of accessing DeepSeek, and how to deal with the current situation; and for many mid-level and even top AI companies, this is an even more difficult choice.‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍

What concerns me even more is why Tencent, a cautious and prudent company that insists on being a latecomer in the field of AI, was so quick and even a little radical in connecting to DeepSeek?‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍

As we all know, Ma Huateng takes the issue of big models very seriously and is quite cautious.‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍

At Tencent's 2023 shareholders' meeting, Ma Huateng said, "We initially thought that AI was a once-in-a-decade opportunity for the Internet, but the more we think about it, the more we feel that this is an opportunity that only comes once in hundreds of years, similar to the industrial revolution that invented electricity."

But he also said cautiously that Tencent is also immersed in research and development, but is not in a hurry to finish it early and show off the semi-finished product - "For the industrial revolution, taking out the light bulb a month earlier is not so important in the long run. The key is to do a solid job of the underlying algorithms, computing power and data, and more importantly, the scene landing. At present, (we) are still thinking about it. I feel that many companies are too anxious now, and it seems to be to boost the stock price. We have never been like this ."

He also believes that " a good company cannot take care of everything. It should focus on the areas it is best at in order to better demonstrate its value. It should not be greedy for profit and disperse its precious energy to grab a piece of the pie from others' more professional areas. Only by focusing can it maximize its own advantages."

Therefore, Tencent has taken this path in the field of AI, both in terms of investment and technology. Specifically in terms of products, Yuanbao was absent from last year's battle for investment and traffic. According to data, as of December last year, the monthly active users of Yuanbao App were 2.91 million, only one-twenty-fourth of Doubao.

Ma Huateng has this attitude, and as we all know, WeChat has always been cautious. So why is Tencent so radical in embracing DeepSeek this time?‍‍

I think a very important reason is that DeepSeek's excellence and low cost have been verified by the industry, otherwise it would not have triggered a tsunami-like reaction in the global AI industry. Accessing the verified "consensus" is obviously more in line with Tencent's cautious product route. In addition, Tencent does not seem to care much about which company's big model is, but is more concerned about the landing of scene applications. Since its own Hunyuan big model is a bit late to enter the market, it will access other companies' big models that have no competitive relationship. As long as it can continue to use applications to capture the minds of users, this is the most important thing .‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍

In fact, Ma Huateng has long stated that he values ​​applications and scenarios more. At Tencent’s internal annual meeting not long ago, Ma Huateng said: “ Tencent will continue to invest resources in computing power reserves, and hope that each BG can embrace the productization of large models. Currently, products including WeChat, QQ, input methods, browsers, etc. will launch AI intelligent bodies, and games, WeChat Reading, Tencent Video and other products will also do more AI exploration based on Hunyuan.”

Ultimately, as one of China's most profitable technology companies with the largest number of users, Tencent's management may be considering more about how to survive successfully in the current AI era, maintain its advantages from the previous era, allow its applications to continue to attract users, and make money through more accurate searches, personalized recommendations and advertising.

From this perspective, DeepSeek may be the best choice. After all, Tencent's big model entered the market late , and it did not bet all its money on Yuanbao. Accessing DeepSeek, which has lower access costs and is more excellent, is a more pleasing and rational solution. Tencent has also made preparations in terms of computing power. For example, it purchased 230,000 NVIDIA chips in 2024 and will continue to purchase them this year. This also means that there may be no problem for the first batch of WeChat Deepseek users to be online at the same time. WeChat's Deepseek may be more stable and easy to use than Deepseek itself.

Imagine that WeChat in the future will be not only your communication tool, but also your personal assistant, your knowledge brain, and your production tool. Will you become more dependent on WeChat?‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍

Finally, I have to sigh that with the help of AI, everything has changed too fast. The first movers have to switch to open source big models, and the sunk costs are too high ; while the latecomers can embrace other companies' big models with less burden.‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍

This AI war is so confusing that it is hard for anyone to predict the outcome.