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Chinese Businesses Offer AI Tokens with Everyday Purchases

Artificial intelligence tokens, a unit of computing power used by AI models, are becoming a common incentive in China, offered by businesses ranging from banks and cafes to telecom companies to attract and retain customers.

AI tokens are being distributed as rewards for credit card spending, bundled with mobile data plans, and given away as freebies in restaurants and cafes, mirroring the distribution of free Wi-Fi.

The surge in AI popularity has dramatically increased token consumption in China, reaching 500 trillion daily tokens by mid-2026, up from 100 billion in early 2024. This has intensified competition among AI companies, with Chinese firms offering models significantly cheaper than U.S. rivals.

This consumer-focused approach to AI commercialization is seen by some analysts as a "supply-led experiment," as most users interact with AI through apps without direct awareness of token balances.

Examples include credit cards offering AI tokens as rewards, telecom operators selling AI usage like mobile data plans, and establishments like AGI Bar and Jingu Yuan restaurant providing free AI computing access.

AI tokens are also appearing on e-commerce platforms like Alibaba's Xianyu, where sellers offer access to AI models in token-based packages. Additionally, banks in Guangzhou are exploring "token loans" to assess the financial viability of AI startups based on their token production and consumption.

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