(Yicai) Nov. 26 -- Kingsoft Office rolled out a full package of artificial intelligence-powered workplace tools yesterday, as the Chinese software giant aims to set a new standard in the collaborative office software market amid the rapidly accelerating global adoption of AI.

The new AI package includes an intelligent document library, Digital Employee 2.0, a private cloud deployment solution, and an end-to-end AI integration plan covering everything from data aggregation to task execution and security measures.

As AI technology advances, more business customers are prioritizing the concept of an “enterprise brain,” said Zhang Qingyuan, chief executive officer of Kingsoft Office. Although a standard definition has not yet been formed, in his view, an enterprise brain should include an AI engine driven by large language models, strong execution capabilities and a private domain-specific knowledge base.

Case studies shared by several business clients still focus on traditional office tools, Yicai observed. The industry has already entered a ‘every project needs AI’ phase but because clients are at different stages of development, their specific needs vary, said Wang Dong, vice president of Beijing-based Kingsoft Office.

AI implementation is a gradual process that requires prioritizing small entry points and high-value use cases, Wang said. Real customer demand is what drives continuous improvement.

US tech giant Microsoft mainly serves overseas clients who rely heavily on emails to communicate, which gives it an advantage in the office software ecosystem, Wang said.

Chinese clients, on the other hand, typically use a variety of workplace chat tools to hand over assignments, he added. Kingsoft’s WPS 365 office suite aims to efficiently organize chat content and meeting documents, and this represents the main difference between Kingsoft Office and Redmond-based Microsoft’s approaches to integrated AI.

In China, platforms such as DingTalk, Feishu and WeCom are also upgrading their AI collaboration features based on their respective strengths, fueling fierce competition in the multi-dimensional spreadsheet space. The domestic collaborative office market can be broadly split into two categories, namely document processing tools and daily communication tools, Wang said. The WPS personal suite covers the former, while WPS 365, which integrates documents and data to deliver an all-in-one AI experience, handles the latter.

Revenue from Kingsoft Office’s WPS office suite surged 11.1 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier to account for 59.1 percent of all revenue. While earnings from its WPS 365 business segment soared 71.6 percent to contribute 13.2 percent of revenue.

Editor: Kim Taylor