China's technology titans are leveraging the upcoming Chinese New Year holiday season to secure users for their intelligent assistants, betting that 2026 will be the year when "AI agents" evolve from novelties into indispensable daily tools.

This high-stakes race, not only for user attention but also for control over the next-generation AI gateway, was ignited by their digital cash incentives.

Tencent kicked off a 1-billion-yuan (approximately $144 million) giveaway on Sunday, offering users a chance to win up to 10,000 yuan through its AI-enabled Yuanbao app. That same day, at least 16 users claimed the top prize, propelling this app, powered by AI models such as DeepSeek, to first place in the free Chinese app rankings on Apple's App Store.

Not to be outdone, Alibaba's flagship AI product, Qwen, followed on Monday, poised to offer a 3-billion-yuan "festival treat," starting from February 6, to subsidize commodities, dining, travel and entertainment bookings, all within a unified, AI-powered shopping ecosystem. This big tech's holiday-season generosity also involves directing traffic to its dedicated healthcare AI app, named Ant Afu.

Two other heavyweight rivals, ByteDance and Baidu, meanwhile, are running promotional campaigns tied to the widely watched holiday television galas.

A recent industry report sees 2026 as a key strategic juncture for China's internet giants, amid growing consumer AI investment and fierce competition to create all-encompassing AI gateways.

"On-device AI agents could make traditional apps gradually fade into the background," said Chen Jianguang, a partner at EY Greater China. He explained that phone-based AI agents will automate tasks based on user data with no app opening required.

In Qwen's chatbot, for example, a simple message like "I want to watch a movie nearby" automatically handles cinema recommendations, booking and payment via Taopiaopiao and Alipay, all within one interface.

"Once an operating-system-level AI agent gains control over traffic distribution, it will become the new gatekeeper of user access," said Sang Jitao, a professor at Beijing Jiaotong University.

In January 2026, leading Chinese AI developers unveiled a new wave of smarter models – ranging from Qwen to Kimi and DeepSeek. Rather than chasing top spots on leaderboards, the race has shifted to creating agents that truly understand context and solve real-life problems.

Pony Ma, chairman and CEO of Tencent, noted that a one-size-fits-all "AI suite" may not be what users truly want, calling instead for an ecosystem designed around individual needs and privacy.

Chinese tech giants are starting to explore and sharpen their AI focuses: ByteDance's Doubao helps students with homework, Alibaba's Lingguang AI enables easy mini-program creation and e-commerce platforms like JD.com are deploying digital avatars for live commerce.