Source: Rest of World
Rather than selling AI access as a standalone service, Chinese businesses are embedding AI tokens into familiar distribution channels—credit card rewards, phone plans, retail bundles—to normalize consumption of AI services the way they've mainstreamed digital payments. This packaging strategy sidesteps the need to build direct consumer habit around AI while leveraging existing loyalty and subscription infrastructure, suggesting that mass adoption of AI won't necessarily follow the app-based adoption curve of previous tech shifts. The mechanics matter: if telecom carriers and banks become primary AI distributors in China, they'll control which AI providers reach consumers and set pricing expectations that could shape global markets.