Xiaohongshu Fully Acquires "Diandian": Integrating AI Life Search Engine to Accelerate Content-to-Commerce Closed Loop
Category: Tool Dynamics
Excerpt:
On December 4, 2025, enterprise registry data revealed that Xiaohongshu's core operating entity, Xingyin Information Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., completed a 100% acquisition of Shanghai Shengdong Shizhang Technology Co., Ltd. — the developer behind the strategic AI search product "Diandian". Original shareholder and legal representative Wei Kuang (a longtime Xiaohongshu senior product manager) fully exited. This move formally integrates Diandian — Xiaohongshu's incubated AI life search assistant — into the group, bolstering its AI-driven push in lifestyle scenarios and signaling an aggressive play to capture the "content + search + transaction" entrance amid fierce competition from WeChat and Douyin.
🏡 Diandian: Xiaohongshu’s AI Lifestyle Search Weapon — Now Fully Integrated, Fully Charged
The lifestyle search war just got a corporate consolidation upgrade — and Xiaohongshu is locking in its homegrown weapon. Diandian, Xiaohongshu's AI-powered life search tool launched in late 2024, isn't an external bolt-on anymore. The full acquisition of its development entity transforms it from an incubated side project into a core arsenal piece, perfectly timed as user search behaviors explode on the platform. With Diandian's independent app, WeChat mini-program, and in-app "Ask Diandian" features already gaining traction — fueled by multimodal queries (text, voice, photo) and integrations like DeepSeek's "deep thinking" mode for 3-second responses — this internalization screams strategic escalation: Xiaohongshu isn't just playing defense against Baidu's erosion; it's offense-mode building an AI moat around its UGC treasure trove.
🧬 The Incubation-to-Integration Masterstroke
Diandian's origins were never truly "independent": Founded in August 2024 with Wei Kuang (Xiaohongshu insider since 2018) at the helm, it was always a strategic spawn. Now fully absorbed:
Core Tech Fusion
Powered by Xiaohongshu's self-developed Zhujie large model, Diandian aggregates real-time notes from the platform + full-web sources, excelling in verticals like food recs, travel plans, hospital bookings, and "pit-avoiding" guides.
Multimodal Magic
Photo uploads for instant evaluations, voice queries, video responses — all prioritizing fresh (7-day) Xiaohongshu content with sourced links for seamless jumps to notes.
Ecosystem Lock-In
Post-acquisition, expect deeper embeds: "Ask Diandian" goes station-wide, turning search queries into direct transaction funnels (e.g., note → buy → pay, leveraging Xiaohongshu's recent payment license grab).
User Surge Fuel
Downloads spiked post-campaigns; this move clears regulatory hurdles (telecom/ICP licenses) for explosive scaling.
🎨 Interface That's Pure Lifestyle Alchemy
Open Diandian app or mini-program: a clean chat canvas greets you, auto-suggesting hyper-local gems based on location. Query "best rainy-day hotpot in Shanghai" → instant collage of real-user photos, price tiers, and pit warnings, with clickable deep-dives ("more on spice levels?").
@Diandian mid-chat for refinements: @add budget under 200 or @video walkthroughs only. Outputs? Source-tagged, jump-ready notes that feed straight into Xiaohongshu's commerce engine — no more context-switching frustration.
📈 Early Impact: A Closed-Loop Accelerator
Traffic Tsunami
70%+ of Xiaohongshu's 300M+ MAU search monthly; Diandian captures "real voices" that generic engines miss, boosting dwell time and conversion.
Commerce Nitro
AI recs maximize UGC monetization — from "grass-planting" notes to "weed-pulling" buys, slashing paths in food/travel verticals where Xiaohongshu dominates.
Competitive Gut Punch
While Douyin/WeChat hoard super-app search, Xiaohongshu's niche authenticity + AI precision targets high-value lifestyle decisions; insiders report 50%+ faster "species-to-purchase" cycles in betas.
Post-payment license (Nov 2025), this acquisition completes the holy trinity: content → AI search → seamless transaction.
| Benchmark | Statistic |
|---|---|
| Monthly Searching MAU | 70%+ of 300M+ |
| Purchase Cycle Speed-Up | 50%+ (betas) |
| Consumer Decision Relevance | 72% of searches |
⚠️ The Fine Print: Not Yet Omniscient
Beta realities: Occasional long-tail hallucinations, station bias in sources (though full-web supplemented), and scale caps on ultra-complex queries. Ethical rails include source transparency and bias audits; Xiaohongshu's response? "Normal corporate action" — but the silence on future independence speaks volumes.
🌐 Battlefield Realignment
This isn't housekeeping — it's empire-building. As platforms scramble for AI search entrances (Baidu defending, WeChat embedding), Xiaohongshu's "recapture" of Diandian fortifies its lifestyle fortress, potentially unlocking local services (group buys, bookings) and challenging Douyin's short-drama dominance. With organizational tweaks (ex-Baidu execs on AI investments), Xiaohongshu's signaling: we're not just a community — we're the AI gateway to real-life spending.
Xiaohongshu's Diandian acquisition isn't a mere paperwork shuffle — it's the ignition switch for an AI-fueled commerce renaissance, where authentic notes meet intelligent search to forge unbreakable user loops. As lifestyle queries migrate from generic engines to nuanced assistants, expect Xiaohongshu to evolve from "grass-planting paradise" to "one-stop life decision hub." The message? In the AI search siege, incumbents consolidate — and Xiaohongshu just fortified its walls with homegrown fire.
Official Links
Experience Diandian Search → https://diandian.xiaohongshu.com
Xiaohongshu App & Ask Diandian → https://www.xiaohongshu.com
