AI Takes Center Stage in China's Spring Festival Celebrations

Forget about flipping through restaurant reviews or scrolling endlessly for activity ideas. This year's Lunar New Year saw a quiet revolution in how China's younger generation planned their holiday gatherings - they simply asked their AI assistant.

Meituan's Xiao Tuan, the food delivery platform's AI helper, became the unexpected star of Spring Festival 2026. The numbers tell a striking story: nearly 100 million users relied on it to coordinate everything from family dinners to short trips.

From Search Tool to Decision Maker

What makes this different from previous years? The depth of interaction. Users didn't just type "good restaurants near me" - they described full scenarios:

• "Find me a place that won't make my parents wait in line but still feels festive"
• "Where can we take grandma that's wheelchair accessible but still lively?"

These 'life script' requests accounted for over 30% of queries, showing how naturally people now converse with AI about emotionally-charged family moments.

The Human Touch in Digital Assistance

The most heartwarming trend? How many queries focused on elderly family members. Young people returning home specifically sought:

• Senior-friendly dining options
• Activities bridging generational gaps
• Ways to recreate childhood holiday traditions

Karaoke emerged as the surprise winner for multi-generational bonding, with Xiao Tuan booking nearly 100 million KTV sessions nationwide.

Why This Matters Beyond the Holiday Season

Meituan has quietly built what industry watchers call an "AI moat" - combining:

• 700 million real-time business verifications
• 1.3 billion authentic user reviews
• Natural language processing that understands emotional context

The result? Recommendations that feel less like computer outputs and more like advice from a well-traveled friend who knows exactly what makes for meaningful gatherings.

Key Points:

• 100 million users relied on AI for Spring Festival planning
• 30% of queries focused on elderly family members' needs
• Life script requests replaced simple keyword searches
• Karaoke bookings topped 100 million as preferred reunion activity
• Real-time data integration created hyper-local recommendations