Alibaba Group Holding's mapping service Amap, which competes with Google Maps, achieved a milestone of 360 million daily users, marking the beginning of China's eight-day "golden week" National Day celebration. This record-breaking figure reflects the company's efforts to expand its local service capabilities while facing intensified rivalry with Meituan.
During the holiday's opening day, Amap facilitated navigation for journeys exceeding nine billion kilometers, establishing another company record, as reported by Alibaba, which owns the Post.
Additionally, Amap's recently launched road safety monitoring system, Eagle Eye Guardian, which debuted on Sunday, generated more than 290 million notifications regarding irregular driving patterns on Wednesday, according to Alibaba's announcement.
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This dramatic increase in user activity occurs as Alibaba works to strengthen Amap's features in its battle against food delivery leader Meituan within the local services market. This sector links customers with physical services including dining reservations, food delivery, and accommodation bookings.
In August, Amap introduced Xiaogao, an AI-powered assistant that handled over 2.6 billion user inquiries on Wednesday, Alibaba reported. Powered by Alibaba's proprietary artificial intelligence technology, Xiaogao helps users navigate routes, organize travel plans, and suggest destinations through natural language interactions.
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The previous month, Alibaba introduced Amap Street Stars, an AI-driven feature that evaluates physical locations like dining establishments, lodging facilities, and tourist sites by combining navigation data with customer feedback. This service creates direct competition with Meituan's Dianping restaurant review platform.
According to JPMorgan analysts in their September research report, Amap Street Stars marked "an important milestone in Alibaba's super-app ambitions" and might deliver "another blow to Meituan's primary revenue source."
Jefferies analysts noted last month that this service would likely strengthen Amap's position as an entry point for lifestyle services, given its 170 million daily active user base.
Alibaba reported that over 40 million users accessed the new ranking system on its debut day.
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Amid a protracted battle in the instant shopping sector, Alibaba, Meituan and other Chinese internet platforms are consolidating their business units to enhance their e-commerce ecosystems.
Alibaba CEO Eddie Wu Yongming said in August that the company’s long-term goal was to create a “comprehensive consumption platform” that addresses consumers’ “full spectrum of shopping and daily life needs”.