Ant Group's AI-to-Consumer (AI to C) Super Gateway Might Extend Beyond Alipay.

On December 15, Ant Group made another significant move in the AI to C arena. It announced the rebranding of its AI health application, originally named AQ, to "Ant Afu." Alongside this, a new version of the Ant Afu app was launched, featuring upgraded key functions such as health companionship, health Q&A, and health services.

Zhang Junjie, Vice President of Ant Group and President of the Health Business Group, explained that the name "Afu" embodies the idea that "health is a blessing," encouraging users to turn to Afu for all health-related matters. After the upgrade from AQ to "Ant Afu," its focus shifted from being a mere medical AI tool to becoming an AI health companion, centered around the "Health+" strategy. This means Afu is no longer content with just being a plugin for answering questions or keeping records. Instead, it aims to integrate seamlessly into users' entire health journey, building a "companionship platform" that fosters trust and dependency through continuous interaction.

Ant Group's strategy here is not about lowering expectations for its AI capabilities or diluting its investment in AI to C. Rather, it's actively mitigating a risk: the potential drawbacks of positioning an AI application as an "AI doctor" far outweigh those of positioning it as an "AI health companion."

As of now, the Afu app boasts over 15 million monthly active users, ranking among the top five AI apps in China and holding the top spot for health management AI apps.

Perhaps Ant Group's "bold move" has sent ripples through the industry. After Afu's new brand image was revealed, social media and friend circles were inundated with a meme depicting Afu snuggling up to the "Doubao Girl," accompanied by the playful caption, "Doubao and Afu, are you two dating?"

Image caption: Online

On the surface, this meme suggests that Afu, as a vertical AI application, is stepping into the ring for the AI to C super gateway, competing with the likes of Doubao, DeepSeek, and even Ant Group's own Qianwen and Kuake. But beyond the humor, a significant observation emerges: Afu could potentially become Ant Group's second "Alipay."

This doesn't imply that Afu will replace Alipay in terms of functionality or strategic positioning. Rather, it suggests that the AI to C super gateway Ant Group is striving for doesn't necessarily have to be Alipay; it could also be the Afu app.

This carries a two-fold meaning. Firstly, for over two decades, Alipay has been Ant Group's largest and nearly sole super gateway. Ant Group built its empire around Alipay, expanding from escrow transactions and financial management to insurance, transportation, government services, and more, transforming it into a super app.

However, its drawback lies in its utilitarian nature. Users primarily open Alipay to complete specific tasks, such as making payments, applying for insurance, or inquiring about health on AQ, with few lingering on the app for extended periods. This puts it at a disadvantage against "time-consuming" competitors like WeChat and Douyin. Public data reveals that Alipay's market share has plummeted from a peak of 82.8% to 20.7% in 2014, trailing behind UnionPay Merchant Services and Tencent Finance.

In offline scenarios, especially for small, frequent transactions, WeChat Pay can now rival Alipay and even takes the lead in some contexts.

Ant Group must find a new anchor for the future. As the AI wave surged, Ant Group realized that cramming AI features into Alipay was akin to fitting a sports car engine into a truck—the chassis simply didn't match, and even the most powerful engine couldn't deliver the desired speed.

To shed Alipay's tool-like perception, Ant Group diversified its product offerings, such as adding content and mini-programs, attempting a shift from a tool to a platform. However, this process was fraught with detours and limited success. User perception became increasingly blurred—was Alipay for tasks, news, or coupons? No one could say for sure.

The second layer of meaning is that Doubao's rise has set an example for AI applications. The key to winning the battle for super gateways no longer lies in technical specifications but in ecological synergy—the multidimensional integration of traffic gateways, data, user scenarios, and AI capabilities. It also means breaking free from traditional app frameworks to create an AI-native gateway.

Specifically, Doubao's strategy follows a "general model foundation + vertical AI application breakthrough" approach. By leveraging Douyin, Today's Headlines, and extensive external traffic, it continuously connects internal and external business scenarios, first scaling user bases and then converting them into Doubao app users, forming a growth loop.

Doubao's playbook was replicated by Tencent Yuanbao, which integrated with Tencent's core applications, covering social, office, and consumption scenarios while providing AI support for WeChat's content libraries, such as Official Accounts and Video Channels. Combined with Tencent's deep pockets for traffic acquisition, its user base and engagement quickly surged to the forefront of domestic AI applications.

The biggest wildcard in the AI to C space for 2025 is Qianwen, Ant Group's sibling app, which is also adopting Doubao's strategy and emerging as a strong challenger.

Afu's true significance to Ant Group lies not just in its current user base but in its potential to pioneer a new path. Outside Alipay, Ant Group has a chance to build another AI to C super gateway.

Afu's predecessor, AQ, was merely a plugin within Alipay. Users accessed it only for medical or health-related tasks, such as registration, checking insurance, or purchasing policies, and left immediately afterward.

The standalone Afu, with its approachable name and clear positioning, focuses on restrained health management as its core, winning user trust with a lower barrier to entry.

Data shows that Afu answers over 5 million health-related questions daily, with 55% of users coming from third-tier and lower cities. From a certainty standpoint, vertical AI applications—those focused on specific industries or scenarios—are more likely to acquire their first batch of users and even commercialize successfully compared to general-purpose AI applications.

This marks the prototype of Ant Group's new super gateway: solving practical problems without relying on flashy technology. Ant Group has also initiated an internal competition, akin to a "horse race." "Lingguang," launched a month ago,主打 "one-sentence app generation," and surpassed 2 million downloads in just six days. The earlier "Zhixiaobao," though marginalized, was once an independent experiment.

Afu is not an isolated case. Ant Group's strategy is clear: it won't bet everything on Alipay. Instead, it operates like an "AI-native app factory," testing multiple approaches to see which succeeds.

Behind this lies Ant Group's anxiety: Alipay is its lifeblood and foundation, but in the AI era, it feels bloated. Loading it with more responsibilities risks keeping Ant Group stuck in its old ways.

Objectively, Afu is far from becoming the "second Alipay." Its 15 million monthly active users are impressive among domestic AI apps but remain a small pond compared to national-scale apps with hundreds of millions of users. Regarding R&D investment, Ant Group's annual spending of 23.4 billion yuan, while substantial, pales in comparison to Alibaba's 380 billion yuan and Tencent's tens of billions in the AI arms race.

Moreover, the AI gateway landscape remains fluid. Doubao, DeepSeek, Qianwen, Hunyuan, and others are all vying for a "ticket," each with its own ace. Afu's strength lies in its vertical depth, but whether it can break through remains uncertain.

At least, Ant Group has done one thing right: it didn't rest on Alipay's laurels but tore down walls to let new products grow wild in the real market. Looking back, the meme of Afu and Doubao feels fitting, as the two seem like a perfect match.

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