The enthusiasm of Chinese developers for going global has impressed Chen Junting, President of Google Greater China.
During the 2024 Google I/O Connect (2024 Google Developer Conference), he mentioned a detail in an exclusive interview with First Financial News: when he arrived at the venue at 7:30 in the morning, people had already started queuing outside the venue, which surprised him.
Starting from the Google I/O Developer Conference in Mountain View, California, USA on May 14th this year, in the past three months, the Google Developer Conference has traveled through Berlin, Germany, Bangalore, India, and finally settled in Beijing, China.
At this conference, different business leaders of Google frequently mentioned artificial intelligence, as well as support and services for Chinese developers.
The importance of Chinese developers in Google's global developer ecosystem is self-evident. According to internal data from Google, the number of developers from China who use Google development tools usually ranks in the top three, and some even rank first& amp;quot; That's also why we need to continue helping and supporting Chinese developers& amp;quot; Chen Junting said in an interview with First Financial News.
He also talked about his views on the AI wave and the trend of Chinese companies going global. According to his observation, Chinese companies have made many new applications in this wave of AI, but they are still in the early stages, and it may take another 1-2 years for more application cases to emerge.
From& quot; What is AI& quot; To& quot; How to use AI& quot;
&Amp; quot; If a year ago, most of Google's customers were still understanding what AI was and what big models represented? This year, everyone is asking 'how to use'& amp;quot; Chen Junting said. The industry also generally believes that AI has entered the next stage.
For this wave of AI, he summarized to First Financial reporters that whether it is enterprises, developers, or startups, everyone generally wants to solve three types of problems through AI: first, whether AI can help enhance the value of existing products or services; Secondly, we hope to use AI to achieve more business growth, efficiency improvement, and cost reduction; Thirdly, is it possible to generate new services and products through AI technology, thereby increasing new sources of income.
&Amp; quot; These imaginations or demands are consistent, in every era& amp;quot; He mentioned that Chinese enterprises seized the opportunity in the last wave of mobile Internet wave, whether mobile phone manufacturers, OEMs, or developers, all occupy an important position in the world& AI is so eye-catching because people see new opportunities& amp;quot;
With the increasing diversity of media forms that users use and interact with, different screens and interfaces have different advertising image formats, sizes, and layout requirements, which require a lot of detailed adjustments to advertising materials. In the past few years, Google has been actively using AI technology to automate advertising and adapt to the different material needs of advertising media.
In the recent Google mobile advertising campaign, Google generated 4500 different ads using AI. This type of work used to require a lot of manual labor, taking at least a week to complete, but now it is possible to quickly convert one or two main visual elements into multiple different versions, greatly reducing the time and manpower required.
Human creativity and strategic planning remain irreplaceable.
Chen Junting emphasized that AI is used as a powerful tool to assist humans, not to replace them. He cited a Google executive's analogy of film photography to digital photography to illustrate that although technological advancements have made photography easier, creative aspects such as framing and composition still require human intuition and aesthetics. Similarly, in the field of advertising, AI can process data and improve efficiency, but the core of creativity and strategy is still the embodiment of human intelligence.
During the keynote speech at the Google Developer Conference on August 7th, reporters found that every guest on stage would focus on mentioning AI, and in the exhibition area, it was mostly related to AI applications.
Chen Junting stated that at the current stage, a common challenge facing everyone is commercialization& amp;quot; If we look at the development of mobile Internet, it may be the second or third year of AI, and it may take 1-2 years for the commercialization of chatting& amp;quot;
Going out to sea is getting hotter
In addition to the AI craze, Chen Junting said that compared to the past, going abroad is also hotter& amp;quot; This year, everyone has come one after another to understand what going out to sea is and how to do it& amp;quot; He told reporters that this is also the area where he has spent the most time and energy this year.
According to the list of the top 50 global brands in China released by Google and Kantar BrandZ this year, the overall brand strength of Chinese overseas enterprises has grown strongly, with particularly impressive growth in smart device and new energy vehicle brands, with a significant increase in the number of brands listed in the top 50 list.
Moreover, there are more overseas users willing to try purchasing Chinese brands& amp;quot; Among overseas consumers who have purchased Chinese brands, 41% of them told us that this is their first time using products from this brand& amp;quot; Meanwhile, 75% of overseas consumers choose Chinese brands due to factors other than price.
Chen Junting observed that in the past, Chinese companies relied more on competitive prices when going global, but now, more and more Chinese companies are starting to win over overseas consumers through more innovative products.
In the era of AI, what changes and challenges do overseas enterprises need to deal with? Chen Junting believes that the first change is the demand for talent, as tools have been updated, making their use very important& amp;quot; This is the same for everyone, businesses, and developers, so talent reserves are important and need to be learned or transformed& amp;quot;
On the other hand, a deep understanding and respect for privacy protection and multiculturalism are also challenges that companies may face when going global. For example, on the issue of gender equality, diversity, and inclusivity (DEI), different countries have different social evolutions and values. The European market attaches great importance to environmental protection, sustainable development, and user data privacy protection. Therefore, before entering these markets, companies need to have a deep understanding of local cultural preferences and social rules.
&Amp; quot; Whether the overseas team truly understands the pain points of overseas users, how to distinguish themselves from others, and then communicates the value of the brand in the long run are the most frequently asked questions by domestic enterprises this year& amp;quot; He said.
Chen Junting expressed his expectations for Chinese entrepreneurial enterprises; quot; Entrepreneurship in China is really an exciting thing to watch, especially with the push of this wave of AI, which has given birth to a new group of young developers. Many people have a sense of globalization from the first day& amp;quot; He believes that we will see a new group of entrepreneurs emerge, with many new applications and tools. Perhaps some successful people from the past may fall behind, but those behind may not only be catching up, but may even achieve breakthroughs.
&Amp; quot; Perhaps some future winners' companies have already been established, you may have heard of their names, and perhaps in the future you can witness their success with your own eyes& amp;quot; Chen Junting sighed that ByteDance was also a startup company at the beginning, but in just ten years, they have become a very successful enterprise& amp;quot; There are many such enterprises in China. Today, we are discussing entrepreneurship somewhere in Zhongguancun, but in ten years, they will grow into globally respected large enterprises. This is the most anticipated thing I have seen& amp;quot;