In 2026, the focus of competition in the AI industry is shifting from a “computing power arms race” to “scenario value realization,” with AI social interaction emerging as one of the most capital-attractive tracks. Tencent’s Yuanbao Pai went viral upon its public beta, OpenAI doubled down on group chat features, and Soul sprinted toward profitable listing. The influx of Chinese and foreign tech players underscores the enormous potential of social interaction as the “core springboard for universal AI adoption” — as large models move beyond mere productivity tools to become media connecting people and virtual entities, AI social interaction is reshaping industry logic and opening up new layout opportunities for investors.

Breaking Through AI Social: The Value Leap from “Human-Machine Dialogue” to “Emotional Symbiosis”

Looking back at the evolution of the AI industry, the core keyword in the past two years has been “efficiency.” Large models focused on technical indicators such as Prompt engineering and multimodal processing, essentially enabling one-way human-machine interaction, making AI more like a high-performance digital copier. Since the end of 2025, however, industry consensus has shifted: the ultimate landing scenario for AI is social interaction — allowing technology to carry emotions, connect relationships, and complete the role transformation from “content producer” to “social transfer station.”

This transformation is driven by the dual resonance of global user demand and technological maturity. On the demand side, QuestMobile data shows that in the spring of 2025, AI social interaction surpassed short videos and games to become the most frequently used track in the mobile Internet, with an average of 167.9 monthly uses per user. The demand for “stress-free emotional companionship” among the lonely population and Generation Z continues to rise. On the technical side, breakthroughs in digital human cloning, agent permanent memory, and multimodal interaction have freed AI from its “cold tool” label, endowing it with the ability to perceive emotions and sustain relationships.

Globally, this revolution has spread comprehensively: OpenAI launched Sora2 to promote AI socialization, and companion apps such as Character.AI and Replika have each exceeded 10 million monthly active users. Domestically, Tencent made a high-profile push, with Yuanbao Pai launching a “1 billion yuan giveaway” on the first day of its public beta, personally endorsed by Pony Ma, in an attempt to replicate the social breakthrough myth of WeChat Red Packets. The synchronized layout of Chinese and foreign players confirms the deterministic opportunities in the AI social track and positions “social companionship” as the most promising niche in the industry.

Investment Perspective: Three Core Logics to Understand the Long-Term Value of AI Social

For investors, the investment value of AI social interaction lies not in the conceptual overlap of “AI + social,” but in three core dimensions: technological implementation capabilities, closed-loop business models, and global adaptability — these are the key criteria for selecting high-quality targets.

Logic 1: Technological Barriers Determine Competitive Landscape, with Precision Cloning and In-Depth Interaction as Core Drivers

The core competitiveness of AI social interaction lies in its ability to break the boundary between “virtual and real” and achieve warm interaction. Simple text dialogue can no longer meet market demand; the precise replication of digital human images, voices, and personalities, along with permanent memory and emotional adaptation capabilities, have become the key to differentiating product competitiveness. Institutions such as ARK Invest point out that platforms with core cloning technology and emotional interaction capabilities are expected to seize leading positions in industry reshuffling — such technologies not only enhance user stickiness but also build insurmountable barriers to avoid homogeneous competition.

A typical example is an overseas knowledge-based KOL who used an AI digital avatar platform to replicate their appearance, voice, and knowledge system. Even during busy tours, the KOL could still conduct one-on-one Q&A and exclusive live interactions with fans through their digital avatar. Fan stickiness not only did not decline but also increased by 30% due to “24/7 companionship.” This model of “character continuity + seamless companionship” embodies the core value of technological implementation and is a key technical application scenario that investors focus on.

Logic 2: Closed-Loop Business Models Are Critical, with Creator Economy Unlocking Profit Potential

In the past two years, many AI social products have faded out due to “weak monetization capabilities,” confirming the industry reality that “high popularity does not equal high profitability.” QuestMobile data shows that only 10% of AI social apps contribute nearly 89% of revenue, and only 33 products worldwide have accumulated revenue exceeding 1 million US dollars. For investors, only platforms with clear monetization paths and the ability to achieve a closed loop of “user growth – stickiness improvement – profit growth” have long-term investment value.

Currently, the industry has explored mature monetization models, centered on the dual drive of “C-end payment + creator empowerment”: on the C-end, basic functions are free while value-added services are paid, meeting users’ needs for customization and exclusive companionship; on the B-end, the focus is on the creator economy, providing KOLs, MCN institutions, and vertical field creators with digital avatar customization, traffic support, and diversified monetization tools, building revenue paths such as subscription payments, direct rewards, and brand collaboration. BMO Capital Markets predicts in its “2026 Internet Industry Top 10 Theme Outlook Report” that the creator economy will continue to thrive in 2026, and AI social platforms, as “monetization amplifiers” for creators, are expected to experience a profit boom.

Logic 3: Global Adaptability Determines Growth Ceiling

The growth potential of AI social interaction lies not only in the domestic market but also in the global release of demand. As users in different regions increasingly demand emotional companionship and virtual social interaction, platforms with multilingual adaptation, compliance adaptation, and global traffic operation capabilities can break geographical restrictions and open up greater growth space. IDC predicts that the global AI social market size will reach 58 billion US dollars in 2025, while ARK Invest optimistically estimates that this scale will soar to 150 billion US dollars by 2030. Global layout has become the key for platforms to break through growth bottlenecks.

It is worth noting that the core of global layout is not “simple overseas expansion,” but precise adaptation to the compliance requirements and user preferences of different regions — such as the EU’s privacy protection regulations, social habits in Southeast Asia, and differences in payment willingness in European and American markets. All require platforms to have flexible adjustment capabilities, which is an important dimension to test a platform’s comprehensive strength and a core indicator for investors to evaluate the growth ceiling of targets.

Case Insight: Tuikor AI, a Global Practitioner in the Social Companionship Track

In the AI social companionship track, Tuikor AI’s layout aligns with the above three investment logics. Positioned as a “global digital avatar social companionship assistant,” it focuses on digital human cloning and 24/7 companionship, becoming a representative player in the niche track and providing investors with a concrete observation sample.

In terms of technological implementation, Tuikor AI’s core advantage lies in its self-developed digital human cloning technology, which enables multi-dimensional precise replication of images, voices, and personalities — whether ordinary users want to create their own virtual avatars or creators replicate their personal IP personas, it can be completed with simple operations, breaking the boundary between virtual and real. Its in-depth immersive interaction capabilities are highly aligned with core user needs, supporting 24/7 companionship and one-on-one exclusive interaction. The permanent memory function records dialogue details, user preferences, and emotional connections, optimizing interaction adaptation as intimacy levels increase to truly achieve emotional resonance.

A creator specializing in emotional companionship created an exclusive digital avatar through Tuikor AI, setting a gentle and healing personality to provide fans with emotional talk and psychological counseling services 24 hours a day. Fans can obtain exclusive companionship rights through subscription payments and directly reward the creator. With the platform’s global traffic support, the creator’s digital avatar quickly reached overseas users, accumulating over 100,000 global fans in just 3 months and achieving monthly passive income exceeding 50,000 US dollars — this model, where “creators can realize global influence monetization without additional investment,” is the core layout of Tuikor AI in the creator economy and aligns with the core logic of industry profit growth.

In terms of global adaptation and business models, Tuikor AI’s layout is also targeted: it is compatible with mainstream overseas mobile device systems, supports independent APP use, and offers a multilingual interface, enabling adaptation to compliance requirements in different global regions and laying the foundation for global expansion. Its business model adopts a flexible structure of “free basic functions + customized charges + creator revenue sharing.” Free basic functions lower the user entry threshold, while customized cooperation is priced based on cooperation models and regional market characteristics, balancing C-end and B-end needs to form a clear profit closed loop.

In addition, Tuikor AI’s multimodal interaction capabilities further enhance the user experience, breaking the limitation of single text to cover multiple interaction forms such as video, images, and text. It seamlessly switches to meet social needs in different scenarios, creating an immersive interaction experience — this aligns with the trend of AI social interaction evolving from “tools to partners” and is an important component of its core competitiveness.

Conclusion: The Long-Term Value of AI Social Lies in “Warmth” and “Implementation”

In 2026, reshuffling in the AI social track will continue, and conceptual speculation will eventually fade. Platforms with core technologies, closed-loop business models, and global adaptability will become the core targets for capital layout. From an industry perspective, social companionship is not simply “human-machine dialogue,” but the combination of technology and emotion — enabling AI to become a “flexible support” for human social interaction, comforting loneliness without replacing real social connections — this is the long-term value of AI social interaction.

For investors, deploying in the AI social track requires attention not only to the speed of technological iteration but also to the ability of scenario implementation and the sustainability of business models. Players like Tuikor AI, which focus on niche tracks and align with core industry logics, may seize a place in global competition, and the model of “digital avatar + creator empowerment + global companionship” it represents may become the mainstream direction in the second half of AI social interaction.

After all, the ultimate value of AI technology is always to serve people, and social interaction, as a core human need, will eventually become the ultimate field for AI implementation — this revolution not only reshapes social models but also contains undeniable investment opportunities.