Meituan Staff Invest Heavily in Shrimp Operations; Executive Wang Puzhong Oversees Company’s AI Transformation Efforts

Meituan’s CEO Discusses the Company’s AI Transformation Journey Wang Puzhong, CEO of Meituan’s core local services division, recently shared insights on the company’s AI applications and detailed the structured approach it has adopted for AI integration across its operations. He explained that despite the current abundance of AI tools available, only a small number of businesses are able to realize significant practical benefits. This gap stems from four key issues: misperceptions regarding the true potential of AI, inefficiencies caused by using such technologies solely for routine tasks rather than addressing core business challenges, limitations in applying AI solutions to critical operational areas instead of integrating them fully into daily workflows, and short-sighted evaluation methods that fail to account for an organization’s internal adaptability. These factors collectively prevent many AI investments from translating into tangible improvements in productivity. Four Phases in Meituan’s AI Transformation Process The company’s AI transformation has progressed through four distinct stages. The first phase took place between February and March of this year, during which Meituan launched a company-wide initiative aimed at improving efficiency. Unfortunately, this effort resulted in increased operational costs as thousands of yuan were spent daily, while errors generated by AI systems actually disrupted normal business operations. In the second stage, individual business units began forming dedicated AI teams, turning employee enthusiasm into actionable productivity improvements. By June and July, during the third phase, Meituan identified a crucial insight through internal competition initiatives: AI transformation is not merely a technical endeavor but a comprehensive project that involves business strategy, organizational structure, and technological development. It cannot be handled solely by R&D teams. Finally, in July, AI technologies were first integrated into internal product processes, beginning to deliver measurable value. CatPaw: Meituan’s All-Scenario AI Agent Platform This year in July, Meituan launched CatPaw, its all-scenario AI Agent platform, which has since been rolled out across the organization. To date, it serves 90,000 employees and has generated 30,000 specialized agents, with successful verification in various real-world business scenarios. The platform offers separate applications for mobile devices and desktop computers, enabling real-time task synchronization and smooth collaboration. Mobile users can start tasks at any time, monitor progress, and approve key decisions remotely, while the desktop version supports in-depth local execution, providing full functionality such as file management, browser control, and command-line access. The cloud-based version of CatPaw ensures 24/7 continuous operation, remaining functional even when local devices are turned off or lose network connection. Long-term and scheduled tasks continue to run smoothly in the cloud environment. In addition to standard agent capabilities, CatPaw incorporates Meituan’s extensive industry expertise across all aspects of local life services. It handles a wide range of use cases including store review analysis, product copy creation, marketing material assessment, event planning, and business data analysis, allowing AI to be fully integrated into every stage of local service delivery.