Xiaomi launched an English-subtitled version of its new video ad meant to promote the launch of the company’s Xiao AI assistant, having opted to showcase the capabilities of its artificial intelligence solution to a broader audience even though the service isn’t meant to become available outside of China in the near future. The two-minute video that can be seen below is somewhat reminiscent of Google’s recent marketing efforts as it doesn’t take itself too seriously yet crams vast volumes of information into a short but fast-paced episode. From a functional perspective, the Xiao AI appears to be a combination of a voice-enabled knowledge base such as the Google Assistant and a service dedicated to providing you with an intuitive method for controlling every aspect of your phone and connected appliances like Samsung’s Bixby and Apple’s Siri.
The overall design of the Xiao AI interface also appears to have been inspired by the Google Assistant as far as color schemes are concerned, though the tool unsurprisingly places a large emphasis on providing support for third-party apps and platforms that are popular in China. Xiao AI thus offers WeChat integration and can help Chinese consumers order movie tickets, make restaurant reservations, and easily look up commute information. The digital companion is launching with the recently announced Mi MIX 2S but will also be available on every other Xiaomi-made smartphone running a contemporary version of the company’s Android-based MIUI, so long as the software itself is of the Chinese variety, i.e. not meant for the international variants of the OEM’s products. The technologies powering the mobile assistant are also supported by Xiaomi‘s two smart speakers, the newer one of which has been announced just several days back.
The Beijing-based company now appears to be pushing for a comprehensive AI ecosystem comparable to the one Google created in the West, with such a platform possibly providing the firm with new growth opportunities. Xiaomi has been pursuing diversification in a rather aggressive manner in recent times, presumably due to its widely reported ambitions to go public in the second half of the year.