"But what's less known is that Doubao also has an overseas counterpart: Cici. It was released around the same time and features a nearly identical female cartoon avatar as its app icon, except Cici's has longer hair than Doubao's. The app is region-locked and not available in either China or the United States, which explains why it's even more obscure than Doubao."
"But ByteDance has been quietly marketing Cici to users in the United Kingdom, Mexico, and several Southeast Asian countries. Meta's Ad Library shows that Cici was running over 400 different ads in Mexico in October, most of which boasted about the model's ability to solve math problems and the fact that it's completely free to use. It's also currently running ad campaigns in the UK and Philippines. On TikTok, creators in those countries have shared dozens of sponsored videos about Cici using hashtags like #ciciai."
"In markets including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Mexico, and the UK, the app has been ranking within the top 20 most downloaded free apps on the Google Play Store for the past three months, according to data from Sensor Tower, a market intelligence firm. In Mexico, for example, Cici has been the most downloaded free app on the Google Play Store every day for the past week."
Doubao became China’s most popular AI chatbot after launching in 2023, reaching more than 157 million monthly active users by August. Cici is an overseas counterpart released around the same time, featuring a similar female cartoon avatar and region locks that block China and the United States. ByteDance has marketed Cici in the United Kingdom, Mexico, and several Southeast Asian countries, running hundreds of ads in Mexico and sponsoring creators on TikTok. Downloads have risen, with Cici ranking in the top 20 free Google Play apps across multiple markets and topping Mexico’s free-app chart recently. ByteDance confirmed control of the apps in 2024.
Read at WIRED
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