If one word were to describe Youzan now, 'not competing in the rat race' would be the most fitting.

If we delve into the internal reasons behind Youzan's 'not competing in the rat race', bidding farewell to the burdens of the internet era and no longer simply defining itself as a traditional SaaS service provider is undoubtedly a significant factor.

Yes, today's Youzan is unwaveringly walking on the path of AI, transforming into an intelligent operations service provider.

This can be glimpsed from the theme of Youzan's 12th Anniversary Conference - 'Doing Business Without Competition'.

The 'not competing in the rat race' mentioned by Youzan does not only refer to Youzan not competing in the SaaS industry of the internet era; it also means not allowing the merchants it serves to compete excessively within the industry or with themselves, instead encouraging them to unleash greater productivity.

For Youzan and Baiya, this is undoubtedly a significant iteration and upgrade.

It is precisely due to such an iteration and upgrade that we can see why Youzan was the first to break through in such a severe market situation.

It is foreseeable that as Youzan gradually enters the realm of 'AI', we will see more surprises from Youzan in the future.

Baiya, the Epitome of Youzan's Change

As the founder of Youzan, it is not an exaggeration to consider Baiya as Youzan's biggest logo and hallmark.

Therefore, we can always see traces of Youzan's changes in Baiya's transformations.

This time, at Youzan's 12th Anniversary Conference, we can also see the transformation Youzan is undergoing through Baiya's changes.

As far as I know, since the previous year, Baiya started growing his hair long, and this year, his hair has finally reached an astonishing length.

However, if we connect Baiya's external image change with Youzan's evolution over the past two years, it is not difficult to see that Baiya's transformation is deeply linked to Youzan's change.

The reason is that it was around the same time two years ago when Baiya started growing his hair, and Youzan also embarked on a new journey of actively embracing AI.

Today, as Baiya's hair has reached a new level of fullness, Youzan's momentum in AI has also reached a new height.

Looking at Youzan today through Baiya, it may no longer be the SaaS service provider we once knew, nor the small sapling rooted in the WeChat ecosystem, but a truly transformed intelligent operations service provider.

Therefore, by recognizing the intrinsic link between Baiya's transformation and Youzan's embrace of AI, we may understand why Baiya is no longer competing within the industry or with peers, but is instead starting to focus more on the vast sea of stars brought about by the AI era.

AI, the Theme of Youzan's Transformation

In the past two years, we have been saying that Baiya and Youzan are changing. There is always a theme and an origin to such changes.

If we summarize and define Youzan's changes over the past two years, AI is undoubtedly a prominent theme.

Without exaggeration, AI has now become the core of Youzan's business.

Internally, Youzan has begun a deep, inside-out transformation of its products with the help of AI.

Whether it's intelligent sales, intelligent matching, intelligent recommendations, intelligent shopping guides, AIGC, or intelligent agents, the Youzan products we see today are no longer confined to the scope of the internet or digital era but are increasingly labeled with AI.

It is precisely due to Youzan's deep transformation of its products and services with the help of AI that we have seen Youzan achieve operational profitability for seven consecutive quarters;

It is precisely due to Youzan's comprehensive embrace of AI that we have seen Youzan use itself as a model and achieve satisfactory returns with its intelligent tools.

Externally, after Youzan completes its internal transformation with the help of AI, it also begins a new AI-based empowerment for the merchants it serves externally.

Whether it's the achievement of intelligent customer service based on intelligent assistants, the improvement of intelligent design based on AIGC, or intelligent development based on research and development, we can see that Youzan is constantly opening up new growth points for merchants with AI-based products and services.

When AI opens up a new path, merchants are no longer limited to previous operating strategies or peer benchmarks, bypassing the traditional, thorny paths and finding a new AI-based development path.

It is precisely due to Youzan's inside-out, deep transformation starting from AI and its continuous exploration of a new AI path that we have seen a new AI development era ushered in by Youzan.

According to Baiya, it is precisely due to Youzan's comprehensive AI strategy and strong confidence in its products and services that Youzan is expected to become the first intelligent operations service provider to truly charge based on results by 2025.

From this, we can see that if Youzan lacked confidence in its products or in-depth cultivation in AI, it would never dare to make such a promise.

It can be said that today's Youzan has explored a new AI-based business model.

Such a business model is no longer calculated using traditional metrics, does not operate through traditional pathways, and does not follow traditional logic.

Youzan undoubtedly paints a new business landscape for the AI era.

In this new landscape, Youzan is no longer an independent SaaS service provider but a new entity that coexists and prospers with merchants, resonating with the industry.

Perhaps, this is the right way to view Youzan.

Today's Youzan is no longer just a cash register or a marketing tool but has become a true symbiotic entity integrated with merchants, providing products and services for them in every detail and process.

Recognizing this, we can truly understand why Youzan defined the theme of its 12th Anniversary Conference as 'Doing Business Without Competition'.

Intelligent Operations: A New Blue Ocean Opened by Youzan

At Youzan's 12th Anniversary Conference, Baiya made an impressive prediction.

This prediction is that Chinese people will only need to work four days a week in the future. One important reason for this prediction is that AI is playing an increasingly important role.

For Youzan, intelligent operations are undoubtedly the key direction to help Chinese people achieve this goal.

Without exaggeration, intelligent operations are opening up a new blue ocean for Youzan.

One important reason for this is that Youzan has never been a simple SaaS service provider as perceived by the outside world but a true participant deeply embedded in the industry.

The reason is that as early as 2016, Youzan began digitizing offline operations and heavily participating in the industry, an area that any SaaS company would venture into.

This is clearly a heavily involved area.

However, it is precisely due to Youzan's deep involvement in recent years that it has become proficient in becoming an intelligent service operator today.

It can be said that today's Youzan is no longer a traditional e-commerce SaaS but has transformed into a new entity dominated by medium and large customers.

This is undoubtedly a new blue ocean for Youzan.

One important reason for this is that Youzan has achieved the integration and aggregation of omnichannel customer assets.

On this basis, Youzan establishes effective connections to transform customers who have visited the store or made purchases into private domain 'close friends'.

Finally, with the help of AI, Youzan realizes intelligent customer operations, truly matching the best operating solutions for different users, achieving truly personalized services and making operations more precise and effective.

Based on these three steps of intelligent operations, Youzan is ultimately able to take responsibility for results.

When Youzan can take responsibility for results, it can also enjoy the dividends that come from such results. Taking this as a starting point, Youzan will bid farewell to the traditional pay-per-click model and truly charge based on results.

For Youzan, this is a long-term approach.

Conclusion

Increasing signs indicate that Youzan is gradually entering the realm of 'AI'.

It is precisely because of this that we see why Youzan defined the theme of its 12th Anniversary Conference as 'Doing Business Without Competition'.

For Youzan, it is starting to excel on the path of becoming an intelligent operations service provider.

When Youzan is no longer the old Youzan, and Baiya is no longer the old Baiya, Youzan can perhaps boldly say, 'You only need to wait for customers to arrive, check orders, and ship them; the rest is handled by Youzan's intelligent agents.'