Zhihu, a question-and-answer platform in China, is betting on artificial intelligence (AI) search features to transform itself into the country’s equivalent of X and LinkedIn, as the company achieved quarterly profitability for the first time since going public, according to chief financial officer Wang Han.
The company not only leveraged its extensive network of professionals, executives and scholars to answer questions, but also used AI models such as DeepSeek-R1 and Zhihu’s proprietary algorithms to power its Zhida service, Wang said in an interview with the South China Morning Post on Tuesday.
Often likened to Quora, Zhihu provides a platform for users to discuss myriad topics, from lifestyle to literature. With the company’s increasing focus on AI, Wang envisions that the platform will evolve to resemble X, which is inaccessible in mainland China, and LinkedIn, which ceased operations in the country in 2023.
With over 81 million monthly active users, Zhihu also resembled US social media platform Reddit, which is also unavailable in mainland China, due to their roles in facilitating public discussions, he said.
Wang Han, chief financial officer of Chinese question-and-answer platform Zhihu. Photo: Handout
The name “Zhida”, meaning “direct answer” in Mandarin, harnesses the platform’s vast content archive to automatically search for and generate responses to user inquiries. It synthesises previous answers from verified experts and incorporates links from other websites. Since its launch in June, the AI service has amassed over 10 million monthly active users, according to the company.
Wang is hopeful that the Zhida feature, a cornerstone of the company’s AI strategy, will position Zhihu as the primary platform for sharing professional knowledge and conducting public discussions in China.
