Zhihu's Annual AI Rankings Paint Competitive Landscape

The tech community buzzed this week as Zhihu unveiled its highly anticipated 2025 AI product rankings. ByteDance's Doubao emerged as the clear favorite among users and developers alike, edging out strong competition from both domestic and international players.

Domestic Dominance with Global Competition

Doubao's rise to the top spot didn't come easily in this increasingly crowded field. DeepSeek and Alibaba's Tongyi Qianwen followed closely behind, demonstrating China's continued strength in AI development.

"What surprised us most was how quickly some of these products have matured," noted Zhihu's technology editor Li Wei. "Just two years ago, many of these platforms were still finding their footing."

International heavyweights held their own despite the strong domestic showing. Google's Gemini claimed the top spot among overseas products, followed by OpenAI's ChatGPT and Anthropic's Claude - maintaining the same ranking order as last year.

Specialized Solutions Gain Traction

The rankings revealed growing appetite for vertical applications:

• Cursor impressed developers with its coding assistance
• Dreamina (Jiemeng) stood out for creative professionals
• Keling gained traction in enterprise solutions

Zhihu's own "Direct Answer" feature cracked the top five, suggesting users increasingly value search-enhanced AI tools that deliver precise, authoritative responses.

The results reflect broader industry trends toward specialization rather than one-size-fits-all solutions. As one Zhihu user commented: "The best AI today isn't necessarily the smartest overall - it's the one that solves your specific problem best."

Key Points:

• Doubao leads Zhihu's 2025 AI rankings followed by DeepSeek and Tongyi Qianwen
• Google Gemini tops international competitors ahead of ChatGPT and Claude
• Vertical applications show particularly strong growth across multiple sectors
• Search-enhanced tools like Zhihu Direct Answer gain significant user adoption