AI is no longer experimental—it’s foundational. According to McKinsey’s latest Global AI Survey (2024), over 78% of global companies report using AI in at least one core business function as of 2025. AI is already embedded in business operations, from predictive analytics and dynamic pricing to generative content and machine-led decision-making.
Yet most organizations are still behind in execution. Gartner’s 2025 report reveals that 77% of executives see AI as essential, but only 44% have a mature AI strategy tied to measurable outcomes. This article addresses that disconnect.
For leadership teams, the question is no longer “What can AI do?” “Are we using it with clarity, speed, and purpose?” Those who hesitate risk irrelevance. Those who overinvest without a plan risk wasting budgets and stalling transformation.
Ashley Dudarenok, a global thought leader on AI and China’s digital economy, argues that the future of AI will reward strategic clarity, not tech obsession. Her insights, rooted in real-world shifts across Asia, offer a playbook for global teams navigating the next decade.
This article breaks it all down:
- What AI’s future looks like,
- Why China’s innovation model matters now more than ever,
- And how global teams can stop watching and start acting.
“What Is the Future of AI?” Is the Defining Question of Our Time
The question isn’t whether AI will reshape the world—it already has. The real question is where it’s going next, and who’s guiding the direction. Artificial intelligence has moved beyond novelty into the core of global systems.
From how products are developed to how people interact online, AI is now the engine powering transformation across every industry. As this shift accelerates, asking “What is the future of AI?” becomes more than a thought exercise. It becomes a strategic imperative.
This trend isn’t confined to Silicon Valley or research labs. Businesses across the globe are already grappling with the reality that AI is influencing hiring, marketing, logistics, and decision-making at a pace that leaves no room for slow adoption. Countries that once followed the lead of American tech giants are now emerging as innovators in their own right, challenging assumptions and setting new global standards.
Why Understanding the Future of AI Is Crucial
Every few decades, a breakthrough redefines how business is done. The internet did that, and so did the smartphone. AI is ushering in a new era where automation, prediction, and personalization are no longer optional for companies that want to stay relevant. The question of AI’s future is not just technological. It’s economic, political, ethical, and deeply human. It touches on how we work, shop, treat illness, and connect.
For business leaders, strategists, and marketers, this moment demands clarity. AI’s trajectory will determine how value is created, which companies thrive, and which fall behind. Understanding where the technology is headed—and how different countries are shaping its use—can spell the difference between opportunity and irrelevance.
China’s Rising Influence in the AI Conversation
One of the most critical shifts happening right now is geographical. While the West has traditionally led AI research, China has quickly emerged as a powerful driver of applied AI innovation. From intelligent logistics networks to AI-powered content curation and virtual influencers, China isn’t waiting for global approval. It’s building the future in real time—and exporting it.
Understanding the global AI outlook is incomplete without understanding China’s role. The country is investing billions in AI research and development and applying the technology at unmatched speed and scale across the public and private sectors.
Whether it’s marketing personalization, autonomous manufacturing, or healthcare diagnostics, China’s approach to AI is shaping global norms in ways that demand attention.
With an AI industry valued at over $70 billion and more than 4,300 active companies, China offers a clear model for aligning national strategy, innovation, and ecosystem growth. According to the World Economic Forum’s recent whitepaper (2025), Industries in the Intelligent Age, the country uses AI to solve sector-specific challenges and navigate the complex realities of responsibly scaling these technologies. China’s AI transformation isn’t just rapid—it’s coordinated, multi-layered, and increasingly influential on a global scale.
What Is the Future of Artificial Intelligence?
Photo by ChinaDaily
AI is no longer an emerging trend—it’s a foundational capability for global competitiveness. Artificial intelligence is now the engine behind productivity, prediction, and innovation, from manufacturing to finance, healthcare to marketing.
For Chinese businesses operating at the intersection of speed and scale, understanding AI’s global direction is essential for staying ahead, not just within China, but globally.
From Automation to Intelligence: How AI Is Changing Worldwide
The global AI evolution has moved beyond simple automation. AI is now embedded in leading economies in strategic decision-making, product innovation, and customer experience. It powers advanced forecasting systems, language models that improve communication, and tools that learn from data in real time, creating business models that adapt dynamically to market shifts.
This signals an opportunity for Chinese enterprises: while much of the world is still exploring AI’s potential, China can set benchmarks in real-world, high-volume implementation.
Generative AI Is Reshaping Global Business Norms
Image on unlimphotos. Baidu app on phone – China’s role in future of AI
Generative AI (Gen AI) is already redefining what’s possible across industries. Chinese firms like Alibaba, Baidu, and ByteDance are leading the way, not only with proprietary models like Tongyi Qianwen and ERNIE Bot, but also with industry-specific use cases, such as intelligent retail assistants and AI-powered marketing platforms.
Strategic Signal: China’s Expanding Role in the Global AI Race
As AI becomes the backbone of the digital economy, China’s position is not peripheral—it’s pivotal. IDC projects that China’s AI market will exceed USD 26.7 billion by 2026, with over half allocated to hardware and infrastructure (IDC via EMSNOW, 2024). While Western countries dominate foundational models, China is ahead in scale, real-time deployment, and public-private integration.
Chinese firms that align AI strategies with global benchmarks while leveraging local strengths in data, speed, and super-app ecosystems will compete internationally and define the next era of intelligent business.
AI’s Impact Across Industries: What the Future Holds
Photo by G42
Artificial intelligence is no longer confined to isolated use cases. It is transforming the core of how industries operate—reshaping business models, altering consumer expectations, and unlocking new types of value creation. This impact isn’t incremental; it’s foundational.
AI enables companies to rethink what’s possible in every primary sector, moving from reactive operations to proactive, predictive systems. Below is a closer look at how AI is reshaping six key industries.
Retail: From Inventory to Immersion
AI is revolutionizing how products are stocked, marketed, and sold in retail. Smart demand forecasting minimizes waste and keeps shelves full. In e-commerce, AI curates product recommendations, adjusts pricing dynamically, and even influences visual merchandising through A/B tested design layouts.
China’s leading platforms like Taobao and JD.com have gone further, embedding AI in everything from virtual try-on tools to AI-generated product descriptions. These capabilities reduce friction in the buyer journey and drive higher conversion rates, turning digital storefronts into intelligent, adaptive ecosystems.
A 2024 survey of Chinese department stores revealed that over 82% of respondents believe AI will fundamentally reshape retail digitalization, while more than 60% of businesses have already implemented AI technologies in their operations. This data underscores how deeply AI already influences China’s retail sector’s strategic and day-to-day aspects.
Marketing: Predictive, Personal, and Real-Time
The marketing industry has evolved from demographic targeting to precision personalization powered by real-time AI insights. AI-driven systems track consumer behavior across devices, interpret sentiment, and serve hyper-relevant content with uncanny accuracy. Marketers are no longer guessing—they’re responding to live data.
ByteDance, the parent company of Douyin and TikTok, is a pioneer in content personalization, offering brands dynamic video creation and granular campaign optimization. Baidu integrates natural language processing and machine vision into its marketing cloud, making AI-powered search and programmatic advertising more effective.
Kuaishou leverages AI to predict purchase intent during live streams. During its 618 Shopping Festival, it connected brands with micro-influencers whose audiences had high conversion probabilities, helping increase ROI by up to 40%.
China’s AI marketing industry reached 53 billion yuan in 2024 and is projected to grow at a 20% compound annual rate through 2029, surpassing 100 billion yuan by 2028. This growth reflects more than scale—it signals a deep integration of AI into how campaigns are planned, delivered, and refined. From copy generation to media buying, Chinese brands use AI to make marketing faster, more adaptive, and increasingly automated.
Finance: Faster, Smarter Risk and Service Models
Financial institutions rely heavily on AI to manage risk, detect fraud, and offer personalized financial products. Credit scoring systems have become more inclusive using alternative data, while robo-advisors provide real-time portfolio management to investors at every level.
Chinese fintech leaders like Ant Group have pioneered AI-powered micro-lending and payment systems that serve hundreds of millions without traditional banking infrastructure. AI reduces operational costs, expands access, and enables new financial experiences across income levels and geographies.
Ping An Bank uses AI to analyze transaction patterns and identify anomalies that might signal fraud or money laundering. Its AI-driven risk engine reportedly reduced false positives by 30%, improving efficiency while maintaining compliance with regulatory standards.
Chinese hedge funds and securities firms increasingly turn to AI for algorithmic trading. Companies like China Renaissance and Hillhouse Capital use machine learning models to analyze massive datasets—including social media sentiment, geopolitical risk indicators, and financial disclosures—to make fast, informed trading decisions.
Healthcare: AI Transforming Diagnostics and Treatment Pathways
AI in healthcare enables earlier detection, faster diagnosis, and more personalized treatment recommendations. Advanced imaging tools flag anomalies that doctors might miss. Chatbots guide patients to appropriate care. Predictive models anticipate disease progression and help clinicians make informed decisions faster.
In China, AI systems like iFlyTek and Ping An Good Doctor deliver primary care, triage cases, and even assist in rural clinics with limited physician access. The result isn’t just efficiency—it’s improved outcomes across populations.
China has introduced the world’s first AI hospital, known as “Agent Hospital,” developed by Tsinghua University. This facility employs 14 AI doctors and 4 AI nurses capable of diagnosing and treating over 3,000 patients daily. These AI agents have achieved a 93.06% accuracy rate on the US Medical Licensing Exam, showcasing their potential in enhancing healthcare efficiency and providing advanced training for medical students.
AI tools assist in detecting conditions like lung cancer and diabetic retinopathy. Tencent’s AI Medical Innovation System (AIMIS) achieved recognition accuracies of 97% for diabetic retinopathy and 97.2% for colorectal cancer. These advancements help reduce workloads and standardize healthcare processes.
Manufacturing: Intelligent Automation and Supply Chains
Photo on unlimphotos. Dongfeng truck exhibit booth
Manufacturing has shifted from labor-intensive production to AI-optimized systems that adapt to changes in demand, raw material availability, and machine performance. Predictive maintenance minimizes downtime, while AI vision systems ensure quality control with incredible speed and accuracy.
China has established over 30,000 smart factories, 1,200 classified as advanced-level and 230 as excellence-level. These facilities leverage AI for real-time monitoring, predictive maintenance, and autonomous decision-making, significantly enhancing productivity and reducing operational costs.
Chinese manufacturers like BYD are embedding AI into every layer of the production process—from robotic arms in assembly lines to cloud-based systems that adjust workflows based on real-time logistics and sensor data. This agility offers a crucial advantage in volatile global markets.
Companies like Dongfeng Motor have deployed AI robots like the Walker S to perform intricate tasks like safety inspections and quality checks in car manufacturing. These robots improve precision and efficiency on production lines.
Information Technology: The Backbone of an AI-Driven Future
Photo by Hyundai Motor Group on Unsplash
AI fundamentally reshapes how digital infrastructure is built, maintained, and secured in the IT sector. From intelligent cloud orchestration to real-time threat detection, AI is automating core functions and eliminating inefficiencies. According to McKinsey, 36% of businesses worldwide now use AI in IT processes, and adoption across marketing, finance, and HR continues to accelerate.
IT teams are no longer overwhelmed by manual monitoring or repetitive tasks—machine learning systems now predict server failures, optimize resource allocation, and handle cyberattacks faster than human response time.
China’s IT giants, such as Huawei and Tencent Cloud, are integrating AI into their backend systems to offer scalable, intelligent infrastructure. These platforms use AI to balance workloads, detect anomalies, and ensure business continuity at unprecedented speed.
In enterprise environments, this translates into more intelligent networks, faster deployments, and resilient systems capable of adapting in real time to shifting demand.
How China Is Shaping the Future of AI (And Why It Matters Globally)
AI as a State-Backed Competitive Strategy
Unlike many countries where fragmented efforts lead AI development from the private sector, China has approached AI with coordinated national urgency. In 2017, the Chinese State Council launched the “New Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Plan,” with a bold target: achieve global leadership in AI theory, application, and infrastructure by 2030. This isn’t just a policy statement—it’s backed by billions in funding, fast-tracked regulatory approvals, and region-specific pilot zones dedicated to AI experimentation.
Take Zhongguancun Science Park in Beijing, a government-supported tech hub that houses hundreds of AI startups alongside R&D centers from giants like Baidu, Tencent, and Megvii. The state provides tax breaks, funding for data centers, and direct support for projects that align with national goals. AI isn’t viewed as a tool to improve business efficiency; it’s positioned as a driver of global influence and economic resilience.
National-Scale Implementation That Bypasses Bureaucratic Friction
China’s vertical integration of AI strategy allows it to implement ideas faster than most Western nations. In Hangzhou, the “City Brain” platform—developed by Alibaba and rolled out in collaboration with the government—uses AI to manage traffic lights, detect accidents, and streamline emergency response. The system reportedly reduced ambulance response time by 50% and cut congestion in key districts by up to 15%. No Western city has deployed an AI traffic management system at this scale or impact.
In education, Squirrel AI delivers AI-powered adaptive learning to over 1,000 learning centers across China. Unlike static e-learning platforms, it analyzes how individual students process different types of information and then adjusts the lesson structure in real time. This level of personalized education at scale is unmatched globally.
Consumer-Facing AI That Redefines Market Expectations
Chinese companies aren’t waiting to react to consumer preferences—they’re using AI to anticipate and shape them. Shein, the global fast-fashion e-commerce powerhouse, analyzes billions of data points daily—from social media trends to in-app browsing behavior—to generate new product designs in under 72 hours. Its AI-driven supply chain then launches micro-batches for real-time feedback, allowing the brand to scale only the performing pieces, slashing overproduction and maximizing profit per SKU.
Meituan, China’s leading on-demand services platform, integrates AI across customer service, delivery routing, and inventory planning. Its dispatch algorithm updates every 30 seconds and factors in weather, traffic, courier fatigue levels, and customer urgency, optimizing over 30 million daily food deliveries with 98% on-time rates. This operational intelligence is not parallel to Western competitors.
Virtual Influencers and Livestream Commerce: A Parallel Universe
In China’s digital ecosystem, AI-generated influencers already host product launches, interact with fans, and drive revenue. Ling, a virtual KOL (Key Opinion Leader) developed by Tencent-backed ZMO.AI, has partnered with top brands and now boasts millions of followers.
Unlike human influencers, she never rests, always stays on-brand, and can interact with hundreds of viewers simultaneously in livestream commerce events without downtime or risk of reputational issues.
Meanwhile, OMO (Online-Merge-Offline) models powered by AI are redefining physical retail. Alibaba’s Hema stores track every shopper’s movement through facial recognition and mobile app integration. Real-time analytics adjust in-store promotions, product placements, and staffing levels.
Customers can scan any product to see cooking tutorials, ingredient sourcing, or instantly order home delivery—creating a seamless commerce experience driven by intelligent systems, not manual operations.
Global Brands Are Reverse-Engineering China’s AI Playbook
Major multinationals have taken notice. L’Oréal partnered with Perfect Corp in China to deploy AI-powered virtual makeup try-ons, which increased conversion rates by 300% during major sales campaigns on Tmall.
Nike’s Tmall Innovation Lab uses machine learning models to predict color and sizing trends three months ahead of product drops, helping Nike reduce returns and better forecast inventory across Asia.
Even KFC China collaborated with Baidu to create an AI cashier system that uses facial recognition to recommend meals based on customer age, gender, and time of day, boosting upsells by over 15%. These aren’t experimental features—they’re tightly integrated into daily operations.
What separates China’s AI maturity from the rest of the world is real-world deployment at a mass scale. Global brands aren’t just observing anymore—they’re learning, adapting, and in many cases, importing Chinese AI methods to upgrade their operations.
What Does the Future of AI Mean for Global Leaders and Teams?
You Don’t Just Need AI Tools—You Need Strategy
Watching China’s AI transformation unfold can feel overwhelming. The scale, speed, and scope are unmatched. But this isn’t a call to copy China—it’s a call to clarify your strategy. Simply deploying AI tools isn’t enough. Without a framework that connects those tools to business outcomes, competitive differentiation, and long-term adaptability, the technology becomes fragmented and underutilized.
China clearly demonstrates that AI success hinges on integration. Tools are embedded deep into decision-making, not slapped on as efficiency hacks. The lesson for global leaders is to stop treating AI as a siloed innovation project.
It should sit at the heart of product development, customer experience, operations, and strategic planning. That requires alignment across teams—from marketing and IT to finance and logistics.
Rethink KPIs and Restructure for Speed
One key takeaway from China’s model is organizational velocity. When companies like Shein can launch and retire hundreds of products in weeks, traditional quarterly cycles and approval chains won’t cut it. AI thrives in systems built for real-time iteration. This means leaders need to redefine how they measure performance.
KPIs that once focused on outputs—like email open rates or daily sales volume—must evolve to reflect inputs like customer intent, emotional engagement, or even AI feedback loops. Departments must collaborate more fluidly, with fewer bottlenecks and faster experimentation cycles. AI doesn’t wait for consensus; it responds to real-time data. Organizations must be structured to do the same.
Data Readiness as a Competitive Advantage in the AI Era
An abundant, interconnected stream of real-time data powers China’s AI momentum. Most Western organizations don’t yet have that luxury. Siloed systems, privacy restrictions, and legacy infrastructure make full-scale AI integration harder, but not impossible.
Global teams must prioritize first-party data collection and invest in infrastructure that enables data sharing without violating privacy laws. This includes upgrading to composable architectures, investing in privacy-first analytics platforms, and deploying AI models that work on-device or at the edge. The ability to act on clean, timely, and context-rich data will separate AI leaders from laggards.
Build with Context, Not Copy-Paste
What works in China may not work everywhere, but the context matters. Chinese consumers are mobile-first, socially driven, and digitally immersed. That’s why virtual influencers and livestream commerce thrive there. Trust, data sensitivity, and platform behavior may call for different AI applications in Europe or North America.
Rather than mimicking use cases, leaders should study the mechanics behind them. Ask: What workflows enable speed? How is AI connected to the user journey? What kind of organizational structure supports real-time iteration? Then, adapt those principles into strategies that reflect your market, consumers, and constraints.
Meet Ashley Dudarenok: Future-Focused Leadership for the Future of the AI Era
Photo by London Speaker Bureau
Understanding the future of AI—especially as it unfolds in China—requires more than technical know-how or trendspotting. It demands cultural fluency, strategic clarity, and practical foresight. Ashley Dudarenok brings all three. A naturalized Chinese entrepreneur with over 15 years of hands-on experience in Asia’s fastest-changing digital markets, Ashley is uniquely positioned to decode what’s next in AI, digital transformation, and the evolving consumer economy.
As the founder of ChoZan and Alarice, Ashley advises Fortune 500 brands on how to stay relevant in the world’s most competitive digital ecosystem. Her insights help leaders connect the dots between macro trends like AI-generated commerce, immersive digital retail, and consumer decentralization, and fundamental, actionable strategies that can be implemented globally.
What sets Ashley apart is her ability to make the future feel practical. Whether she’s briefing executive teams on generative AI use cases, leading immersive workshops on new retail in China, or consulting on customer-centric transformation, her sessions are built on lived insight and deep operational knowledge—not buzzwords.
Her work has been recognized by major tech players including Alibaba, JD.com, and Pinduoduo. She’s part of Alibaba’s Global Influencer Entourage and a core member of Jingdong’s Global China Experts Group. Ashley bridges the gap between global leadership and China-speed innovation as one of the world’s Top 100 Retail Influencers (RETHINK Retail) and a Thinkers50-recognized authority on marketing in Asia.
From keynote speeches and board-level strategy sessions to tailored market briefings, Ashley equips global leaders with the understanding needed to navigate AI-powered change, without the guesswork. Her talks are rich with case studies, first-party insights, and real-world examples that inspire confidence and enable action.
Explore how Ashley can help your leadership team get ahead of disruption and build long-term strategic resilience in the age of AI by connecting with her as a top speaker on China and tech.
For more on Ashley’s expertise and speaking engagements, visit her Keynote Speaker page.
👉 [Book Ashley Dudarenok for your next executive session or global event]
FAQs on What is the Future of AI?
How innovative is China in shaping the future of AI?
China is highly innovative in AI, especially in real-world applications. China excels in scaling AI solutions across industries, from AI-powered virtual influencers to autonomous logistics and personalized medicine. It also leads in AI patent filings and is rapidly catching up in foundational research and advanced modeling techniques.
What is China’s new AI model, and how does it shape the future of AI in language and culture?
China is rapidly developing domestically trained large language models (LLMs) and AI systems to rival Western platforms. Companies like Baidu (with ERNIE Bot) and Alibaba (with Tongyi Qianwen) are advancing generative AI models tailored for the Chinese language, culture, and regulations, aiming for wide-scale deployment in education, customer service, and enterprise applications.
How is AI used in retail stores, and what does it say about the future of AI in commerce?
AI in retail stores predicts inventory needs, personalizes customer experiences, and optimizes in-store layouts. In China, leading retailers use facial recognition for payment, smart cameras for foot traffic analysis, and AI systems to adjust product placements and promotions in real time. Platforms like Alibaba’s Hema integrate online and offline data to create seamless, AI-powered shopping journeys.
What is China’s AI plan for 2030 and its vision for the future of AI?
China’s national AI strategy, released in 2017, aims to become the world leader in AI by 2030. The plan includes key milestones: achieving parity with global AI leaders by 2025, mastering core AI technologies, and building a 100 trillion yuan AI industry that drives economic and military modernization.
How many AI companies are in China, and how do they shape the future of AI?
China is home to over 4,500 AI companies, spanning sectors like robotics, computer vision, fintech, e-commerce, and healthcare. These firms are supported by private capital and government incentives that drive innovation and national-scale implementation.
How big is the AI market in China, and what does it mean for the future of AI?
As of 2024, China’s AI market is valued at over $70 billion, with projections indicating continued rapid growth. In AI marketing alone, the sector reached 53 billion yuan and is expected to exceed 100 billion yuan by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 20% through 2029.
What rank does China hold in the global race for the future of AI?
China ranks among the top three global leaders in AI, alongside the United States and the European Union. While the U.S. leads in foundational AI research, China leads in applied AI deployment, especially in consumer-facing applications, infrastructure, and real-world integration.
What are the top 5 Chinese AI companies driving the future of AI?
Some of the leading AI companies in China include:
Baidu – Specializing in autonomous driving, NLP, and AI cloud services
Tencent – Known for healthcare AI, virtual assistants, and content recommendation
Alibaba DAMO Academy – Focused on AI R&D in e-commerce and logistics
SenseTime – A leader in computer vision and smart surveillance
iFlyTek – Renowned for AI in speech recognition and education technologies
How is China using artificial intelligence to shape the future of AI?
China is applying AI across both public and private sectors to enhance efficiency, personalization, and decision-making. AI is widely used in healthcare diagnostics, traffic optimization, predictive maintenance in manufacturing, personalized marketing, autonomous delivery, and smart city infrastructure. The country also leverages AI for education, financial services, and national security initiatives.
What is the future of AI in China?
The future of AI in China involves deeper integration across industries, more substantial global influence, and accelerated innovation in areas like generative AI, autonomous mobility, and smart cities. With significant investment, talent pipelines, and policy support, China is on track to set global benchmarks for applied AI.
