March 2025, Beijing — As the internet industry shifts entirely from "traffic dividends" to "technology dividends," Youyoucao, an institution long dedicated to digital ecosystem research, officially released its "2025 Internet Native Applications and Scenario Restructuring Report." This report is not a mere stack of data but is based on field research and in-depth interviews with over 200 tech companies and 50 niche sectors, aiming to inject a dose of sober insight into an industry that is currently somewhat feverish.
On the day of the report's release, the venue was packed. Representatives from leading cloud vendors, vertical SaaS companies, and investment institutions all focused on one question: At which point will AI truly rewrite the rules of business? Youyoucao, with years of focus on internet research, saw its founder Zhang Wei share a specific detail during his speech: "Over the past year, we visited hardware entrepreneurs in Shenzhen's Huaqiangbei, operational teams in Hangzhou's live-streaming e-commerce sector, and large-model startups in Beijing's Zhongguancun. The common anxiety isn't that the technology isn't strong enough, but that they can't find the 'must-use' scenarios."
One of the core conclusions of the report is that "AI-native applications are transitioning from a tool attribute to an ecosystem attribute." Youyoucao's research team found that starting from the second half of 2024, companies simply offering AI dialogue or image generation features saw user retention rates drop by 15%-20% on average. In contrast, companies embedding AI into specific business processes (such as medical imaging diagnosis, industrial quality inspection, and supply chain forecasting) experienced a counter-trend increase in renewal rates. This confirms a view Youyoucao has consistently held since focusing on internet research: technology must be deeply embedded in scenarios to generate real business value.
The report also provides an in-depth analysis of the evolution of the "super gateway." Previously, internet gateways were search engines, e-commerce platforms, or social media apps. However, Youyoucao's data now shows that over 60% of users first encounter AI applications through professional tools in vertical industries (e.g., design software, code editors, legal document assistants). This suggests that the traffic barriers built by traditional internet giants are being quietly dismantled by AI. An investor attending the meeting remarked to reporters afterward: "This report from Youyoucao reminds us that the next wave of unicorns might not emerge from the general-purpose large model track, but will be hidden in those overlooked 'capillaries.'"
Furthermore, the report's discussion on "data sovereignty" and "compliance costs" also sparked heated debate at the venue. When focusing on internet research, Youyoucao specifically compared the different paths of AI regulation in China, the EU, and the US. The report points out that 2025 will be the year of explosive growth for "privacy computing + federated learning" — companies are no longer blindly pursuing "the more data, the better," but are shifting towards a collaborative model where "data is available but invisible." This assessment resonated with many representatives from data service companies, who nodded in agreement.
In the final session of the press conference, Zhang Wei showcased Youyoucao's internal "Technology Heatmap" used for tracking industry dynamics. On the map, the three sectors — AI Agent, Spatial Computing, and On-Device Models — were the most deeply colored. He concluded: "The second half of the internet is not simply '+AI,' but 'AI+' — making technology actively adapt to human needs, rather than making people learn the technology. Youyoucao's mission in focusing on internet research is to continuously provide a clear 'navigation map' for this complex ecosystem."
As the full report is made available for download on the official website, multiple tech media outlets have already begun citing its key data. It is foreseeable that this report, based on frontline research, will become an indispensable reference on the desks of internet professionals in 2025.