Xiaohongshu has started "promoting" AI applications.

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Xiaohongshu is attempting to extend its "recommendation" capability to AI applications.

At the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC), held from July 17 to 20, Xiaohongshu launched RED Skill, began internal testing of Vibe Coding, and upgraded its developer platform Builder Hub.

Developers can mount AI Skills, as well as web pages, tools, and interactive applications created through Vibe Coding, onto their posts, allowing users to directly experience, download, or use these products while browsing content.

In the past year, large models have lowered the barriers to application development, enabling individual developers and small teams to create products more rapidly. However, as the number of AI applications increases, finding the first batch of users is becoming a new challenge.

Traditional app stores focus more traffic on mature products, while independent websites lack steady entry points. For many developers, after a product is created, promotion and acquiring users actually become higher hurdles.

Xiaohongshu solves this issue through its content community. Developers can showcase their product’s creation process, usage scenarios, and actual effects through posts, then directly attach the application below the content. Users may discover and try an AI product while browsing content related to careers, design, parenting, or entertainment, even without a clear need for a tool.

Essentially, Xiaohongshu is still using its familiar recommendation mechanism, but now the recommended items have shifted from consumer goods to AI applications.

The fully launched RED Skill mainly carries repeatable AI functions. According to Xiaohongshu, over 7,300 original Skills have appeared within a month of internal testing, covering areas like workplace efficiency, career coaching, and emotional support.

Vibe Coding, which also began internal testing around the same time, targets the growing demand for individual development. Since February this year, Xiaohongshu has seen 40,000 to 50,000 Vibe Coding projects published each month, with related content expanding from programming tools to design, crafts, music, parenting, and film.

Moreover, over the past year, more than 160,000 AI developers have been active on Xiaohongshu.

However, AI applications are not the same as consumer products like cosmetics or apparel. An AI tool receiving exposure and user trials through posts does not guarantee stable retention. How to charge for applications, how developers share revenue, and how tools involving files, data, and personal information are reviewed are all issues the platform needs to address.

At this stage, RED Skill and Vibe Coding are more like experiments in AI application distribution.

Xiaohongshu already holds content and traffic, and has gathered a group of individual creators willing to publicly share their development process. But whether it can go beyond recommendations and further establish mechanisms for transactions, payments, and developer earnings will determine if these AI applications embedded in posts can eventually grow into a real app marketplace.

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