"At Meituan, China's platform for local services, especially known for food delivery, I worked on two AI projects. One was a consumer-facing AI assistant that helps users complete various tasks, including ordering food. The other was a merchant-facing AI agent designed to help businesses manage their daily operations, including handling reservations, managing orders, and supporting routine operational tasks. The main difference between how products are built in China and in the US comes down to the market."
"Across most large Chinese tech companies, AI product development accelerated more aggressively around 2025. The AI initiatives I worked on at Meituan started around April or May of that year. It coincided with the surge of interest around DeepSeek, when attention around AI agents took off. Large companies began racing to build AI projects, and almost every business unit launched its AI initiative."
Yilin Zhang graduated from Tsinghua University with a master's in computer science in 2021 and then worked at Meituan as a product manager for over three years before joining AI startup Kuse. At Meituan, Zhang worked on two AI projects: a consumer-facing AI assistant for tasks including ordering food, and a merchant-facing AI agent for daily business operations such as reservations and order management. AI product development in China accelerated around 2025, driven by a surge of interest around DeepSeek in April–May and intense domestic competition. Chinese tech firms prioritized efficiency, launched widespread AI initiatives, and saw growing entrepreneurship over traditional career paths.
Read at Business Insider
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