AI-Powered Marketing Gains Traction in China: Alibaba and Tencent Lead the Charge

Beijing – February 21, 2026 – Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) companies are reporting significant user engagement following large-scale marketing campaigns utilizing AI services during the recent Lunar Latest Year period. The initiatives, designed to attract users and showcase AI capabilities, have exceeded expectations, with participation reaching “hundreds of millions,” according to company announcements.

Alibaba and Tencent Report Billions of Interactions

According to Chinese economic media outlet Caixin, Alibaba and Tencent, two of China’s leading AI companies, have released interim results for their AI-driven Lunar New Year campaigns. Alibaba reported that the command “Qwen, help me” was entered into its generative AI, ‘Qwen,’ a staggering 5 billion times. Tencent announced that its AI ‘Yuanbao’ facilitated over 3.6 billion draws for digital “hongbao” (red envelopes) containing prizes.

Alibaba’s ‘Free Milk Tea’ Event Drives App Downloads and Shopping

Alibaba’s “Free Milk Tea Event” proved particularly successful. Users who entered the command “Order milk tea” into Qwen received a coupon worth 25 yuan (approximately $3.50 USD as of February 21, 2026). Alibaba allocated 3 billion yuan (approximately $420 million USD) for these coupons, resulting in nearly 10 million simultaneous orders and significant congestion at beverage stores. The Q.one app experienced a surge in downloads, reaching the top of the Apple App Store’s free app chart in China. Alibaba reported that 130 million people have now experienced shopping through its AI platform.

Regulatory Scrutiny of AI Marketing Tactics

The success of these campaigns has not gone unnoticed by Chinese regulators, who are closely monitoring the potential for heated competition among AI platforms as companies vie for market share. The possibility of overly aggressive marketing tactics is under review.

Reporting by Hyemi Lee, Correspondent