DeepSeek, once the focal point of attention, has made waves again with its latest move.

On May 29, DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng achieved a remarkable feat by leading his team to fully migrate DeepSeek's underlying code from NVIDIA's CUDA ecosystem to Huawei's Ascend platform over five months. This move completely decoupled the trillion-parameter model from NVIDIA's ecosystem and transitioned it to Huawei's CANN framework.

Once the news broke, the hashtag #LiangWenfengMigratesCodeToAscend quickly rose to the top of trending topics. Some hailed it as "the right path to a tech-driven nation," while others questioned, "When will domestic computing power fully support all training scenarios for large models?"

Meanwhile, controversy continued to swirl around Claude's alleged distillation of Qwen and DeepSeek, with NVIDIA's Jensen Huang weighing in on "Tao's Law." The clash of perspectives raged on.

AI has transformed from a niche tech topic to a universal one. And where is the epicenter of all this discussion? Weibo. Every AI breakthrough becomes a trending topic; every viral application racks up billions in views.

Recent reports released by Weibo confirm this trend.

One is the Q1 2026 earnings report, which shows a 9% year-over-year (YoY) increase in advertising revenue, with significant contributions from the internet software and applications sector. The other is the , revealing an 18% YoY increase in AI-related discussions in Q1 2026, with daily discussions in February surging 147% from January.

Behind these figures lies an accelerating virtuous cycle: Weibo's content ecosystem expands, its commercialization strengthens, and AI emerges as a core driver. From netizens to tech giants, from discussion to application and commercialization, AI is taking root on social media.

Who's driving AI from geek territory to the mainstream?

In February, #SeedanceSparksPanicAmongFilmmakers trended. The panic didn't originate from AI companies—many remained distant from AI. But tech key opinion leaders (KOLs) bridged that gap.

Yocar-Feng Ji, founder of Game Science and producer of , and @MediaStrom praised Seedance 2.0 after testing, with Tim from MediaStrom declaring, "Traditional filmmaking processes... are officially on the countdown." What began as a product launch evolved into a societal debate.

A week later, director @Jia Zhangke created a New Year short film, , using Seedance 2.0, emphasizing that "what matters is how people use technology."

From sparking panic to directorial involvement, social media documented the full journey of a new technology's acceptance.

Driving this process are top creators who understand both technology and expression. According to Weibo data, in Q1 2026, the number of original video posts and creators among top influencers (Golden Orange V bloggers) saw double-digit YoY growth. These individuals are becoming the core engine of AI content production.

Breaking it down, AI's top creators on social media fall into two categories.

The first consists of professional tech KOLs, often the first to ignite AI discussions.

After Seedance 2.0's launch, reviews from MediaStrom and Feng Ji set the tone, framing it as a potential industry game-changer. Similarly, the OpenClaw "shrimp farming" craze began with AI enthusiasts deploying, debugging, and testing the technology, then sharing results on social media.

In March 2026, a QuestMobile report revealed that among major content platforms, Weibo accounted for around 60% of AI-related hot posts, peaking at 66.7% for OpenClaw—meaning nearly 70% of global OpenClaw discussions originated there.

The second category includes opinion leaders from other fields.

When AI tools become user-friendly, they spill beyond tech circles. Entertainment bloggers, for instance, use them for celebrity and film remixes. In Q1 2026, Weibo's AI video production volume rose 82% month-over-month (MoM), driven largely by cross-domain creators who brought AI into their fields, sparking broader learning and discussion.

QuestMobile data shows that in April 2026, AI content KOL participation across platforms like Weibo and WeChat Official Accounts surged YoY. Weibo's share jumped from 1.5% to 10.2%, the highest and fastest growth among all platforms.

Platforms are also boosting creator AI engagement.

The earnings report noted that Weibo opened AI creation tools to bloggers, releasing copyrighted materials from over 20 popular dramas and variety shows by April. Nearly 3,000 bloggers participated, producing nearly 8,000 AI remixes. AI tools are amplifying top creators' productivity.

In May, the #AICreationCamp attracted creators from history, military, science, and more. Science communicator @ErZhu created , using AI animation to digitally revive the extinct bird and recount its extinction.

AI content creation is no longer exclusive to top creators—a participatory ecosystem for all is taking shape.

From Universal Discourse to Universal Adoption

After top creators set the tone, it's ordinary users' participation that truly makes AI a universal topic.

The word cloud in reveals a clear shift. In 2025, terms like DeepSeek, Chinese AI, overtaking, and national pride dominated. By 2026, it's about red packet codes, tutorials, deployment, APIs, and prompts—users are discussing how to use AI.

The "shrimp farming" craze illustrates this transition.

What began as geek tech talk evolved into #OpenClawTutorials, #OpenClawInstallationServices (500 RMB/visit), #IsRentedEquipmentSafer, and #XiaomiReleasesChina'sFirstMobileShrimpModel. Users shifted from technical curiosity to practical concerns like cost and simplicity.

This signals AI's transformation from a pure tech topic to a consumer, service, and lifestyle one—driven by a "democratization mechanism."

The first mechanism: trending topics foster participation.

DeepSeek exemplifies this. After its January 2025 launch, related topics trended for 35 days, amassing over 12 billion views. User demographics broadened rapidly, with TGI scores for users under 18 and over 40 rising sharply. A tech product achieved user democratization in 35 days.

Trending topics don't just expose—they inspire. Repeated appearances fuel curiosity, leading to searches, questions, and trials.

The second mechanism: social interaction and deep engagement spark community resonance.

Take 's AI remix. Blogger @Ms. Mila "catified" all characters, prompting Zhang Yi to comment, "The Pei family refuses to be cats," Yu Baimei to joke, "You've gone too far," and fans to request "Ayumiao" content. Here, AI tools united communities and deepened discussions.

Cross-community impacts continue to spread.

In the #AICreationCamp, @Mx-Shell's AI-generated short , created with Seedance 2, featured a cowboy-bot "sweeper" dancing, shooting, and dating mannequins. The video sparked debates on production costs, technical bugs, and awe over its quality. It even trended overseas, with one user calling it "one of the best shorts I've seen in years. Soon, we'll just call it 'film.'"

On May 20, Wang Leehom released an AI music MV, , created by @AbstractXEIIZO. The video depicted Wang and his lover surviving the Colosseum, Titanic, and interstellar apocalypses before reuniting in a multidimensional space and holding hands by a bedside.

Wang, a music icon, collaborated with @AbstractXEIIZO, a former CCTV documentary director turned AIGC creator whose AI shorts and overseas dramas and have amassed over 100 million overseas views. Their partnership broke boundaries, initiating a direct dialogue between AI and music.

As AI transforms from a tech spectacle into an everyday tool and creative asset, this collective participation fosters deep user loyalty and platform vitality.

AI Ecosystem Revolution

Amid the AI boom, a content-to-commerce ecosystem is rapidly forming on social media.

According to QuestMobile's <2026 China Mobile Internet Spring Report>, Q1 2026's internet advertising market grew 5.8% YoY, led by AI's high investment and growth. AI marketing accounted for 4.7% of Q1 campaigns, emerging as a key force.

AI marketing is now the internet ad market's top growth engine. Q1 earnings show Weibo's ad revenue rose 9% YoY, driven significantly by the internet software and applications sector.

Reviewing Weibo's Lunar New Year trending topics, like #QianwenFreeSuperCard and #YuanbaoRedPackets, evokes memories of sharing links and grabbing deals in group chats.

Behind this AI red packet war, internet giants aimed to capture user mindshare—proving technical superiority while ensuring accessibility to scale user bases rapidly.

Weibo's content ecosystem perfectly aligns with this need.

On one hand, it hosts professional AI creators. When AI models need to build expertise, tech KOLs act as natural translators; when showcasing applications, cross-domain creators provide direct, relatable content.

On the other hand, it has a massive, AI-curious user base. By Q1's end, Weibo's monthly active users (MAUs) reached 562 million, with daily active users (DAUs) at 254 million. AI-interested users surged 328% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) in Q1 2026.

Top creators offer expert breakdowns; ordinary users drive adoption. Together, they form a complete chain from awareness to trial, discussion, and consumption.

The Lunar New Year red packet war exemplifies how this chain translates to commercial success.

Explaining Q1's revenue growth in internet and app sectors, Weibo noted: "During the Lunar New Year, AI models ramped up promotions. Leveraging its KOL ecosystem and professional tech discourse, Weibo effectively met AI firms' needs for product launches, tech education, and user reputation building, driving significant marketing revenue growth."

Meanwhile, red packet activities' inherent participatory and shareable nature sparked universal engagement. Related topics dominated trending lists, with 317 slots and 12.7 billion views.

Users encountered AI products while grabbing red packets, experienced AI capabilities through interactive Q&A, and spread AI awareness via content sharing. Festive scenarios lowered psychological barriers to first-time AI use, making it a daily habit.

QuestMobile reports that driven by New Year activities, native AI app adoption surged in Q1 2026. By April 2026, AI native apps had 462 million MAUs, with users averaging 91 sessions and 180 minutes monthly—clear signs of scaling adoption.

Ultimately, Discussion Fuels Commercialization

Qianwen's AI red packets weren't isolated events but tied to consumption scenarios, boosting brands like ChaPanda (+226% discussions), Mixue (+173%), HeyTea (+121%), and Jasmine Snow (+84%).

In the entire chain, bloggers produce content, users participate in discussions, topics trend on hot searches, manufacturers gain exposure and downloads, spillover effects drive related industries, and user habits are naturally cultivated in the process.

Data from May shows that the scale of AI professional bloggers on the Weibo platform, the daily average number of AI hot topics, and the volume of discussions on AI-related content have all increased by over 30% compared to January. The simultaneous growth in these three dimensions indicates that the positive cycle from the content ecosystem to the commercial ecosystem is accelerating.

Conclusion

If the widespread application of AI is still on its way, then the widespread discussion of AI has already arrived.

On the internet, attention means traffic, and discussion means value. When AI large models, AI hardware, etc., evolve from internal discussions within the tech circle into topics of widespread participation and a frenzy of secondary creations, they trigger not just awareness but tangible commercial momentum.

Currently, there is a clear pathway from discussion to commerce for AI: social media uses top creators to define the tone of discussions, translates technical topics into layman's terms through hot searches and interactions, and then leverages the participation and sharing of a vast user base to convert traffic into brand equity and conversion momentum.

In the process of AI becoming ubiquitous, whoever masters the arena for widespread discussion will be able to reap more benefits from AI commercialization. With its unique triangular structure of "hot topics + social interaction + search," a vast KOL ecosystem, and strong capabilities in setting discussion agendas, Weibo is a formidable contender.