Recent analysis reveals a growing trend in the adoption of Chinese generative artificial intelligence tools among users in various industries. Harmonic, a research and technology firm, recently undertook an in-depth analysis of the activity of 14,000 employees on a 30-day stretch. They learned that a number of China-based GenAI tools are becoming widely used.
The tools Kimi Moonshot, Qwen from Alibaba, DeepSeek, Baidu Chat and Manus have all amassed almost 8 percent of users. Both factored into their popularity and growing influence in today’s market. This remarkable adoption indicates a deepening trend in preference as businesses seek out new tech-based solutions that foster greater efficiency and creativity.
The new research showed that 1,059 users uploaded more than 17 megabytes of content to designated platforms in the collectors’ observation windows. Alarmingly, more than one in three of this uploaded data was sensitive, featuring source code and engineering documentation. This bleeds over into important issues of data privacy and protection of intellectual property.
Among these, Kimi Moonshot and Qwen have captured special interest for their rapidly growing adoption rates. As these tools become more ubiquitous and integrated into daily workflows, issues of fairness and equity must be approached with caution when determining the risks of deploying these tools. When using or developing such technologies with proprietary data, organizations need to think through the risks involved.
DeepSeek, Baidu Chat, and Manus are three vital cogs in this exciting ecosystem. They greatly increase the scale of what users can achieve. The relatively even uptake across these platforms suggests that there is a wider willingness to accept GenAI tools into corporate environments. As organizations harness these capabilities, they must remain vigilant about the security measures in place to protect sensitive information.
Harmonic’s research emphasizes the need for better developed, robust corporate guidelines and standards. Fostering protocols for how to use generative AI technologies responsibly should be a priority. Every day there are new and improved apps and tools coming out. Users need to strike a balance between pursuing new innovations, but they should stop and consider how to ensure progress does not compromise critical data security.