More than half of China’s population is now using generative AI: report - South China Morning Post

Minxiao Changin ShenzhenPublished: 9:00pm, 29 Sep 2026China’s generative artificial intelligence user base surpassed 700 million at the end of June, accounting for more than half of the population as wide AI adoption pushes the technology’s penetration rate to a record high in the country.

The user base data, released Tuesday by the China Internet Network Information Centre, represents an increase of 16 per cent from the end of 2025, when China had 602 million generative AI users with a penetration rate of 42.8 per cent.

Question-and-answer services remain the most common use of generative AI in China. In a survey of users, 76 per cent said they used the technology to seek answers. Nearly half, or 48 per cent, employed AI tools to process images or videos, while 38 per cent used it for text processing and 33 per cent for work summaries, meeting notes or presentations.

The report said AI adoption had also expanded beyond software. Some 39 per cent of users had bought smart hardware online during the past six months.