Photo/Provided by 58.com

"Hello everyone, I am Yao Jinbo's digital avatar." On May 8th, during the annual 58 Magic Day event, the CEO of 58.com, Yao Jinbo, unveiled his digital avatar, becoming the second internet entrepreneur after JD.com’s founder Richard Liu to make a public appearance with his digital self.

Yao’s digital avatar highlighted the critical historical juncture we are at, stressing the importance of grasping the vast developmental opportunities presented by AI and going all out to build AI applications in the local life services sector. Yao’s digital avatar expressed deep expectations for the in-depth application of AI capabilities in the future, also conveying 58.com’s intent to fully embrace AI and join the new round of market competition.

Yao’s digital avatar disclosed that before the upsurge of AI, 58.com had already established its AI Lab, applying AI technology to multiple business scenarios, including recruitment, real estate, local life services, and automotive. 58.com is now focused on creating the best AI applications in the local life services industry and is actively exploring the implementation of AI in this domain.

Once a dominant force in the internet age, 58.com has decelerated in recent years.

58.com has been mired in public criticism. The platform covers recruitment, real estate, automotive, and local life services. Yet, over the past two years, there has been a continuous stream of user complaints against 58.com, with both tenants and landlords, as well as job seekers and employers, often encountering traps on the platform. There have also been frequent reports of layoffs across 58.com’s various business lines.

Additionally, 58.com’s business has been contracting. On September 7, 2020, 58.com announced its delisting from the New York Stock Exchange. Financial reports show a persistent decline in 58.com’s revenue growth rate from 2015 to 2020, with rates of 185.1%, 69.54%, 32.62%, 30.48%, 18.56%, and -15.45%. At the time of delisting, 58.com’s stock price was $55.75 per share, a nearly 40% drop from its May 2018 peak of $89.9 per share.

In July 2023, Yao mentioned in an internal letter the necessity to complete an industrial transformation and entirely eliminate all unprofitable businesses.

With AI now integrated across all business lines, is it possible to reverse the decline that 58.com has experienced over the past two years?

Some remain skeptical. “many companies, formerly non-competitors of 58.com, have become competitors. For instance, Douyin is now a competitor of 58.com. It’s a broad and comprehensive platform, but it lacks specialization. I believe AI cannot resolve the fundamental competitive challenges faced by 58.com,” independent e-commerce analyst Lu Zhenwang told NBD. 

Lu also pointed out that AI might not enable 58.com’s various business lines to gain substantial business instantly. It may serve an auxiliary role but is insufficient to turn around the performances of 58.com’s various businesses. “The conversion rate of digital avatar live broadcasts still significantly lags behind that of real-person live broadcasts,” Lu added.