I really can't see how Doubao can keep racking up users by selling subscriptions. Ben Thompson said 1 thing that I strongly agree with: when it comes to utilities and software, no users in this world want to pay for them, ad model wins always
I agree subscriptions are unlikely to carry Doubao. Its users grew on distribution, and the paid tiers are still a test. But ads aren't the only other route: since August 10, ByteDance has charged hotels a 12% fee on bookings made through Doubao. If the assistant starts booking things, that take rate could matter as much as ads.
I really can't see how Doubao can keep racking up users by selling subscriptions. Ben Thompson said 1 thing that I strongly agree with: when it comes to utilities and software, no users in this world want to pay for them, ad model wins always
I agree subscriptions are unlikely to carry Doubao. Its users grew on distribution, and the paid tiers are still a test. But ads aren't the only other route: since August 10, ByteDance has charged hotels a 12% fee on bookings made through Doubao. If the assistant starts booking things, that take rate could matter as much as ads.