Chinese AI tutor apps capture US market

Chinese-developed study apps powered by artificial intelligence (AI), including one from social media giant ByteDance, are gaining momentum in the United States, where the TikTok owner continues to face political headwinds.

Gauth, marketed as an “AI homework helper” by ByteDance subsidiary GauthTech, was the second-most downloaded education app for Apple iOS devices in the US as of yesterday, behind language-learning platform Duolingo, according to the latest survey by consumer data research firm Data.ai.

Question.AI, which also touts itself as an AI homework helper, ranked third in the survey. This app is backed by Zuoyebang, a Beijing-based online education services start-up.

The overseas success of these education apps shows how some Chinese education technology enterprises have managed to survive Beijing’s crackdown on the sector.

In July 2021, the General Office of the Communist Party and the State Council banned private tutoring firms from making a profit via off-campus courses covering school curricula.

The crackdown prompted ByteDance to sack thousands of employees at its education unit, which founder Zhang Yiming once envisioned as a strategic growth driver. Still, the firm has kept the unit as one of its six major business groups.

Launched in 2020, Gauth was formerly known as Gauthmath and initially covered maths, while offering live support from human tutors. The app received a major rebranding last December after it embedded AI and expanded the subjects it covered.

Beyond the US, it has also become popular in Canada and the Philippines, according to Data.ai.

Question.AI uses a ChatGPTlike chatbot to answer questions. Last month, the app’s most active users were from Indonesia and the Philippines, according to Chinese blog BaijingApp.