(Yicai) Dec. 17 -- Chinese financial technology giant Ant Group's artificial intelligence health management app, which recently rebranded to Ant Afu from AQ, has become China's largest AI healthcare app by users.

Ant Afu's monthly active users have exceeded 15 million, about 55 percent of whom are from third-tier cities or lower, according to official data.

Health management apps were initially considered as low-frequency apps in the internet industry, as users typically seek services only when they are ill. But with the rapid development of AI, major Chinese online consultation platforms are becoming traffic entry points for high-frequency users.

"Internet firms are competing for various data entry points," a senior internet healthcare expert told Yicai. "On one hand, they are actively collaborating with major hospitals, and on the other hand, they are striving to attract patients, working to transform low-frequency medical behaviors into high-frequency health consultations and inquiries."

The more user consultation data is uploaded, the better health management apps can train AI large language models, the expert noted. "The capabilities of these LLMs represent a technological high ground that internet platforms are competing for, and they are also key for future monetization in some scenarios."

About 70 percent of questions from patients are basic issues related to pregnancy, which are often repetitive, Duan Tao, director of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department at Shanghai East Hospital, told Yicai. AI health apps can help relieve some of this repetitive workload for doctors and enable the partners of pregnant women to participate more effectively in the care process, he added.

Duan's AI avatar on Ant Afu has already completed 160,000 consultations, with 24 percent of them coming from male users.

Over 500 renowned Chinese doctors have launched AI avatars on Ant Afu. They have answered a total of more than 27 million healthcare consultations.

China's healthcare industry is expected to exceed CNY20 trillion (USD2.8 trillion) this year. As traditional service models struggle to meet diverse healthcare needs, AI health management apps are presenting tremendous development opportunities.

However, these apps can only serve as auxiliary tools for health management and do not engage in diagnosis and treatment. In fact, medical procedures, such as prescribing medication, examinations, and surgeries, must still be performed by qualified healthcare professionals.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Futura Costaglione