China to become a major market for AI-enabled devices
March 20, 2018 Category China News Round-up, Weekly
China, already the world’s biggest smartphone and internet market, appears set to become a major consumer of a range of gadgets enabled with artificial intelligence (AI), including voice-activated smart speakers and robots for the home, according the Global Consumer Insights survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). It found Brazilian and Chinese consumers were twice as likely to plan buying an AI device – 59% and 52%, respectively – as their American, British or French peers, with interest at 25%, 24% and 25%, respectively.
The annual survey, which assesses the shopping behavior, habits and expectations of more than 22,000 consumers in 27 countries, found that 21% of respondents in China already owned AI-enabled devices, such as smart speakers. Across all markets surveyed, early adopters of AI devices tend to be men, aged 18-34, according to PwC. “AI is moving very rapidly into the consumer and retail sectors,” John Maxwell, the global consumer markets leader at PwC, said. “Within two to three years, AI could revolutionize how companies profile, segment and serve customers.” As Chinese consumers have taken to e-commerce in increasing numbers each year, they are also keen to adopt the latest innovations for the home.
The Chinese government has made AI a top priority, pledging to build a USD150 billion industry by 2030. Beijing has also recruited the country’s biggest technology companies – including Baidu, Alibaba Group Holding and Tencent Holdings – to join a so-called national team to push the domestic AI industry forward, the South China Morning Post reports.
“None of the big-name Western smart speakers, such as Amazon’s Echo, Google Home and Apple’s HomePod, have officially entered China,” said Zhu Yuanzhi, Marketing Director at Rokid, a Hangzhou-based smart speaker start-up backed by investors including Temasek Holdings and Credit Suisse. Zhu said the main reason for that delay was that it was “difficult for their AI systems to master the Chinese language and interact with Chinese consumers”. More than 100 companies in China have become involved in the smart speaker market since last year, betting that these devices would be the next big thing after smartphones.
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