In Depth: AI Foray Is Teaching China’s Edtech Firms a Valuable Lesson

Edtech companies are rapidly adopting artificial intelligence, but it remains to be seen whether the technology is up to the task

In recent years, tutoring apps powered by artificial intelligence (AI) have generated significant buzz by providing features such as English language training, math problem explanations and help with writing essays.

Many private education companies have scrambled to integrate large models developed by big names like ByteDance Ltd. and up-and-comers like DeepSeek into their AI-powered teaching apps to improve the user experience.

There are signs demand for these apps is on the rise. According to data from Volcano Engine, ByteDance’s cloud computing unit, the number of tokens consumed by clients that provide online tutoring services for K-12 academic subjects grew twelvefold in the six months through May. However, whether AI tutoring can truly overcome the complex challenges inherent in education will depend on the strength of the foundational models and how effectively they can adapt to the different learning needs of different students.

AI gets into education

China’s private education industry took a major blow from the government’s “double reduction” policy in 2021, which was designed to reduce the burdens of too much homework and too much after-school tutoring for students. However,