Doubao Begins Introducing Independent Fees for AI Transactions

ByteDance’s AI assistant Doubao has introduced an independent fee structure for transactions conducted through the platform. Under the new policy that took effect on August 10, when hotel reservations or orders for certain life services are completed with Doubao as the entry point, a separate fee is charged for each transaction. This marks a groundbreaking turning point in which an AI chatbot functions not merely as an information-providing tool, but as a channel capable of identifying transactions and charging for them.

Details of the Fee Structure

The fees set under the new policy are not a flat commission; rather, they vary depending on the transaction type and merchant category. According to a TechMo report from Titanium Media, hotel reservations are charged a software service fee of 11.4% plus a payment processing fee of 0.6%, for a total fee rate of approximately 12%. For certain life-service orders, the software service fee is set at 17.4%, reaching approximately 18% when including the payment fee.

The fee schedule was publicly announced on July 27 and officially implemented on August 10. According to backend information operated by TikTok Laike (Douyin Laike), the fee rate can vary depending on merchant type, product category, point-of-interest (POI) category, product type, and transaction channel. In other words, it is a billing model optimized for specific transactions.

Emphasis on the Absence of Paid Promotion

On the night of August 10, Doubao’s public relations officer Liu Xing gave an official explanation. The stance is that Doubao does not charge hotels advertising fees, and no paid promotion model exists. Merchants cannot influence recommendation or ranking order based on the amount they pay. The operation is strictly one in which channel service fees are charged only after a transaction is completed.

Previously, some orders originating from Doubao were incorporated into TikTok’s organic traffic settlement. With this change, Doubao has come to be identified as an independent channel, and the platform side has begun to track and price AI-driven transactions individually. In addition to providing answers, Doubao is growing into a transaction channel where revenue and costs can be accounted for.

Current State of Transaction Volume

The introduction of independent fees does not immediately mean that Doubao’s transaction volume has matured. According to a LatePost report, as of the first half of 2026, Doubao generates about 10 million yuan in daily e-commerce transaction value, with daily revenue below 1 million yuan. Revenue comes mainly from e-commerce commissions, and monetization as an AI chatbot is still in its early stages.

According to information from 36Kr, since April, the conversion rate for users who clicked on Doubao product cards and viewed the detail page to the end has exceeded 3%. More detailed data analysis will be needed to judge transaction quality. Establishing a separate channel can be positioned as preparation for accounting. In other words, it is urgent to clarify how many orders Doubao brings, how much of that is new demand, and how much is merely a shift from TikTok, Ctrip, or other platforms.

Implications for Merchants

For hotels and life-service merchants, evaluating the fee rate cannot be separated from order quality. Traditional e-commerce and online travel platforms have provided merchants with traffic entry points and an environment for purchasing advertisements. What AI assistants change is the user’s decision-making process itself. The ability to understand budget, location, usage, and preferences in natural language and narrow down many options to a few results has the potential to reduce wasted displays and increase conversion rates.

Collecting fees after a transaction is completed is easier to manage than purchasing display ads, because no software service fee is incurred if there is no order. However, Doubao still needs to prove that these orders are a pure increment. If it merely relabels transactions that would have been completed on TikTok or other platforms and charges a higher fee rate, it will not win merchants’ acceptance.

Challenges Surrounding Recommendation Neutrality

Doubao emphasizes that merchants cannot influence recommendations or rankings through payment. However, whether AI recommendations are neutral does not depend solely on whether there is bid-based ranking. AI answers usually present only a few options, and in some cases directly reach a conclusion. How the candidate pool is formed, which platforms and merchants can be integrated, and what the model uses to determine the order all affect the final answer.

Overseas AI products are also dealing with similar challenges. OpenAI explains in ChatGPT’s shopping description that product results are independently selected by the model and are not influenced by advertising or partnerships. When Google tests Direct Offers in AI Mode, it marks eligible offers with “Sponsored deal” to distinguish commercial content from natural results.

Current domestic regulations also require platforms to clearly state fee rates based on transaction conditions and to improve the transparency and explainability of algorithmic recommendations. Doubao needs not only to meet compliance requirements but also to work on gaining user trust. Answers should first serve users’ needs and cannot exist solely for platform revenue.

Editorial Opinion

The introduction of independent fees by Doubao symbolizes the reality that the revenue model of the AI chatbot business is shifting from “advertising” to “transactions.” In the short term, it has the advantage of leveraging TikTok e-commerce and life services’ product, payment, and fulfillment systems, but it remains to be seen how merchants evaluate the reasonableness of the fee rate. In particular, the rate is more than 4 percentage points higher than the existing TikTok fee rate of 2.5% to 8%, and unless the creation of new demand is demonstrated, adoption will likely be limited.

In the long run, it is possible that an ecosystem will develop in which AI assistants handle everything from product selection to reservation and payment. However, judging transaction quality and distinguishing new orders from shifts away from existing channels are essential for revenue calculation. Whether AI-driven transactions are generating true incremental demand will become clear in the data over the coming months.

Whether Doubao can become a “stable consumer gateway” depends on whether users continue to trust the neutrality of its recommendations. Ensuring transparency that revenue relationships have not changed the recommendation criteria is one of the biggest points of contention in AI e-commerce.

References

• “从推荐到成交，豆包开始算一笔新账”, by Techmo — 钛媒体, 2026-08-11T09:01:17.000Z (ARR)
• Source URL: https://www.tmtpost.com/8098784.html