TikTok’s interface is perfectly optimized to gather user sentiment data (translation: it knows how to keep you hooked)
You’ve almost certainly seen a viral TikTok video.
Last year, the short video platform saw 800m+ new downloads, the most of any app.
The driving force behind its catchy dance vids, cooking shows, and cringe dad comedy…
… is an AI-powered recommendation engine
According to Financial Times, TikTok’s parent company ByteDance has turned this algorithm and other tools into a service other companies can pay to use.
It’s called BytePlus and offers:
- Personalized recommendation tools
- Automated speech/text translation
- Real-time video effects
- Computer vision tech with 18-point body detection tracking (useful for fashion companies)
Various clients are already using it…
… including Goat (US retailer), WeGo (Singaporean travel site), and Chilibeli (Indonesian e-commerce), per FT.
ByteDance is looking to diversify its business ahead of an IPO that could value the company (including TikTok) at $400B.
This isn’t its only new product: TikTok is testing a celebrity shoutout tool for its creators.
Based on how much The Hustle has spent on Cameo, that could be the real cash cow.
