Summary of Key Points
ByteDance has recently made significant changes to Lark (Feishu): the app has been split into two parts. The product team has been merged into DouBao (led by Zhao Qi), while the marketing and sales services (GTM) have been integrated into HuoShan Engine (led by Tan Dai). This move is aimed at consolidating internal AI office resources, addressing the previous issues of separate operations among DouBao, Lark, and HuoShan Engine. It also seeks to make DouBao the main focus for ByteDance’s AI office initiatives, aligning with the global trend of integrating chatbots with specialized applications. Additionally, this integration aims to improve commercial efficiency in order to compete with Alibaba and Tencent in the AI office market.
Detailed Breakdown
1. Lark is Split into Two Parts: Who Manages the Products? Who Handles Sales?
The core of this adjustment is the “splitting and merging” of Lark’s functions:
- Product Team Goes to DouBao: The product teams from Lark and DouBao have been combined into a new team under Zhao Qi, with the former Lark leader Xie Xin reporting to him. This means that Lark’s product development will now follow DouBao’s direction. For example, since DouBao and Lark already had integrated account systems and friend-making features, they will work together more closely on productivity scenarios, such as the internal testing of DouBao’s enterprise version.
- Sales Team Goes to HuoShan Engine: Lark’s marketing, sales, and customer service (GTM) functions have been merged with HuoShan Engine to form a “Creativity Service Platform” led by Tan Dai. The former Lark sales and marketing leaders will now report to him.
Lark’s existing products and services remain unchanged, but they are no longer considered independent business units; instead, they have been integrated into the DouBao and HuoShan Engine frameworks.
In simple terms, Lark’s “research and development capabilities” have been transferred to DouBao, and its “profit-making functions” have been handed over to HuoShan Engine. Lark retains its user-facing services but is no longer an independent entity.
2. Why Make These Changes? Internal Disputes and Global Trends
ByteDance’s decision is not arbitrary; it aims to solve two major problems:
- Internal Issues: There was a lack of coordination and duplication of efforts among the separate teams (DouBao for lightweight office tasks, Lark for mid-to-heavy collaboration, and HuoShan Engine for computing power/modeling). Each team worked on its own, leading to confusion for users who had to install multiple apps and deal with different departments for support. Sales teams also operated independently, resulting in poor customer experiences and lower prices.
- Global Trends: Major companies around the world are adopting similar strategies. For instance, OpenAI integrated its coding tool Codex into ChatGPT, significantly increasing Codex’s user base; Anthropic combined chat, collaboration, and coding features in Claude; Google made NotebookLM part of Gemini’s knowledge base. The general idea is that chatbots (like DouBao and ChatGPT) are the most widely used and accessible AI interfaces. Integrating specialized applications with chatbots allows users to complete tasks in one place, potentially generating additional revenue.
3. The Complementary Nature of DouBao and Lark
The combination of DouBao and Lark complements each other’s strengths:
- DouBao Addresses Weaknesses: DouBao, originally designed as a chatbot, excels in lightweight office tasks (document writing, PPT creation), but lacks advanced collaboration features. By integrating with Lark, it can evolve from a personal assistant to a powerful enterprise collaboration tool.
- Lark Benefits from the Integration: Lark has a strong foundation in the corporate market but lacks AI capabilities compared to DouBao. By partnering with DouBao, it can leverage DouBao’s user base (382 million MAUs) and large model capabilities to attract more users. For example, the internal testing of DouBao’s enterprise version allows Lark’s existing customers to access its AI features.
- Ideal Scenario: Users can use DouBao for report writing and then easily transfer the content to Lark for collaboration, eliminating the need for manual copying and ensuring data consistency.
4. The Business Strategy: How to Monetize AI Office Solutions?
ByteDance’s goal is to generate revenue through these changes:
- New Value for DouBao’s Membership: DouBao previously sold memberships (ranging from 68 to 500 yuan per month) with limited benefits (such as priority access and additional image generation). Integrating Lark will add value by offering enterprise collaboration and team management features, making it more attractive to businesses.
- Unified Sales by HuoShan Engine: With HuoShan Engine managing all MaaS (model-as-a-service) and SaaS (software-as-a-service) sales, customers only need to deal with one team, enabling the sale of more expensive packages that combine DouBao, Lark, and HuoShan Engine’s services.
- Increased Token Usage: ByteDance’s large models generate revenue based on token usage. By integrating these tools, users will use them more frequently, potentially increasing revenue (reported annual revenue of 4 billion US dollars).
5. Competing with Alibaba and Tencent: A Different Approach
AI office is a key area for competition between Alibaba and Tencent, but ByteDance’s strategy differs:
- Alibaba’s Focus: Alibaba has made “QianWen Office” its top corporate initiative for 2026, with CEO Ma Huateng personally overseeing the WorkBuddy project, allocating significant resources.
- ByteDance’s Approach: Instead of treating AI office as a standalone project, ByteDance uses it to complement DouBao and HuoShan Engine. Founders Zhang Yiming and Liang Rubo have not publicly endorsed this strategy; they prefer to follow market trends. Since OpenAI’s approach has been successful, ByteDace is adopting similar tactics.
- Efficient but Low-Profile: Although ByteDance does not make grand announcements, the integration solves internal issues and improves efficiency. For example, by unifying products and sales, it can accelerate the rollout of AI office solutions.
Conclusion
ByteDance’s adjustment uses DouBao as a platform to integrate Lark’s office capabilities and HuoShan Engine’s sales strategies to create a profitable business model. It aims to resolve internal challenges and keep up with global AI trends while establishing its own path in the AI office market. Whether this strategy will be successful depends on the overall user experience and commercial outcomes.