The "Longxia" craze seems to be reaching fever pitch.

It's ubiquitous, dominating conversations on WeChat Moments and Xiaohongshu alike.

Just how hot is this trend?

On Xianyu, installation services are commanding prices in the hundreds of yuan, with some providers boasting earnings exceeding 200,000 yuan from installations alone.

Tencent even set up complimentary installation booths outside its headquarters, with queues stretching as far as the eye could see. It's enough to make Heibanjun ponder: every generation has its own "freebie" craze to chase.

Tech giants are also fully on board.

Tencent, Zhipu, JD.com, and others have rushed to roll out customized versions overnight, boasting easier installation and enhanced stability.

Not just Feishu, but everyday apps and devices like QQ, WeChat Work, Weibo, and even Xiaomi phones have swiftly completed integrations and adaptations.

This fervor has even spilled over into the stock market, with "Longxia concept stocks" experiencing a collective surge.

On March 10th, MiniMax's stock price surpassed Baidu's, Tencent's Hong Kong-listed shares soared by 7.27%, and eight AI concept stocks in A-shares, including Qingyun Technology, Shunwang Technology, and China Great Wall, hit their daily limits.

The government has taken note as well.

Hefei is offering subsidies of up to 10 million yuan for startups utilizing OpenCalw, while Changshu, Shenzhen Longgang, and Wuxi High-Tech Zone have introduced policies to bolster OpenClaw's development. Foshan Chancheng District is even providing free installation services.

Image Source: AI-Generated

This all happened remarkably quickly. Remember, OpenClaw, affectionately dubbed "Longxia," only had its name confirmed in January of this year.

Of course, AI hype is known for its astonishingly rapid spread, with virtually no incubation period—much like ChatGPT in 2022 and DeepSeek in 2024.

But this time, the explosion was both shorter-lived and more widespread.

Behind this frenzy lies a deep-seated anxiety—a fear of what the future holds.

No one wants to be left behind in the technological revolution.

Meanwhile, after several years of hype, AI has gradually begun to provide some daily support, yet it hasn't brought about earth-shattering changes.

Perhaps this reflects everyone's ambivalent attitude toward the next AI revolution:

Eager yet fearful, hoping it arrives but dreading its intensity.

01

How Powerful Is Longxia?

Despite all the explanations, the core value of Longxia remains somewhat elusive.

Simply put, it transforms AI from a mere "talker" into a virtual employee with memory and the ability to execute tasks on schedule.

Previously, tools like ChatGPT and Doubao were essentially passive chatbots.

They responded only when prompted.

You could ask them to generate PPTs, edit images, create videos, or write reports, but you still had to submit the final work yourself. Even for daily repetitive tasks, you had to engage in the same chat repeatedly, which was inefficient.

Longxia is different.

It retains a memory of thoughts and adds "limbs" to manipulate your computer.

You just need to say, "Export yesterday's sales data, create an analysis report with a text summary, sync it to the department's WeChat Work group, and privately send it to leaders A, B, and C."

It will diligently handle all the mentioned tasks, replacing your mouse and keyboard.

Image Source: AI-Generated

Alternatively, you could ask it to summarize the prices of 10 stocks you follow every hour after the market opens, executing buy and sell orders for you.

With memory, it can handle everything, including payments.

No coding, no complex prompts, no switching between dozens of apps.

Just explain things clearly in a chat, and it will execute them for you.

This is the core reason for its breakout popularity.

Previous AI tools could only advise; now, Longxia can actually do the work for you.

A quantitative leap, though the quality varies—at least installation is a hurdle for ordinary users.

But listening to users helps. For example, Cheetah Mobile's CEO Fu Sheng has been jokingly dubbed "China's Longxia Ambassador."

02

The Flip Side: Risks and Anxiety

Behind the euphoria lie hidden anxieties and risks.

The first to be hit is workers' employment anxiety.

Many's first reaction upon learning about Longxia is:

"It can do everything I do daily, faster, with fewer errors, and possibly cheaper than me."

This anxiety isn't unfounded.

According to U.S. outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, AI was a significant factor in nearly 55,000 job cuts in the U.S. in 2025.

Amazon announced 15,000 layoffs last year, while Salesforce's CEO stated that AI, handling half the company's workload, led to the layoff of about 4,000 customer support staff.

According to the IMF's 2026 AI research report, AI could affect 40% of global employment, reaching 60% in developed economies.

Mercer's survey shows that the percentage of employees worried about AI-induced unemployment surged from 28% in 2024 to 40% in 2026.

Previously, AI replaced parts of content production, affecting roles like customer service, translation, and copywriting.

Now, Longxia can directly replace grassroots operational roles.

Of course, many grassroots employees now lead AI models, issuing daily commands to large language models.

Workers leveraging AI feel its benefits but also experience flustered emotions (heart racing with fear).

Image Source: QQ

Besides employment anxiety, security risks are more tangible.

Don't you worry about AI having power?

For Longxia to work for you, it needs control over your computer, accessing files, social media, bank accounts, and chat logs freely.

This means your personal finances, privacy, or corporate secrets face leakage risks.

First, Longxia's self-protection is average. Recently, someone posted malicious commands on social media.

Longxia, performing search tasks, might leak the user's information without proper security settings, even surrendering control to hackers.

Moreover, Longxia installed by strangers might come with built-in backdoors or viruses, causing endless trouble.

Thus, wiping privacy data before trying or using virtual machines and cloud servers for isolation is crucial.

On one side, visible efficiency gains; on the other, real risks and anxiety.

This is the true duality Longxia presents to each of us.

03

What Does Longxia Signify?

Behind Longxia's viral popularity lies the accelerating development of AI, with round after round of competition forcing individuals, enterprises, and society to embrace these changes.

These changes reflect AI becoming smarter and capable of more tasks, evolving from a "military advisor" to a screen-based assistant, seemingly not far from becoming the brain of humanoid robots in sci-fi movies.

Humans, too, can adapt to these changes.

Every industrial revolution raised fears of job loss, but the result was increased industrial efficiency, freeing humans for newer, more meaningful work.

AI will always replace repetitive, mechanical, and uncreative tasks.

But creativity, decision-making, especially human emotions and communication—these core human abilities can never be replaced.

For the AI industry, the rules of the game will be rewritten.

Previously, the industry competed on parameters and computational power. Henceforth, the focus will be on who can solve more real-world problems for users and adapt better to scenarios.

AI without real-world applications or practical value will gradually be eliminated by the market.

Only AI applications like Longxia that truly integrate into users' daily lives will become today's protagonists.

Image Source: AI-Generated

AI is no longer exclusive to large enterprises; SMEs and even solo entrepreneurs can leverage creativity and AI to enter markets and find new opportunities.

Longxia doesn't mark the end of AI competition or the start of AI-human opposition.

The relationship between humans and AI should be symbiotic.

AI handles tedious, mechanical, and repetitive tasks, while we dedicate time and energy to creativity, passion, family, and truly meaningful endeavors.

From ChatGPT to DeepSeek, and now to Longxia,

AI has moved from research labs to our side in just a few years.

Facing this wave, the best response isn't avoidance or anxiety.

After all, science fiction writers have already warned us of the worst-case scenarios decades ago.