ByteDance said reports that its AI assistant Doubao charges hotels for recommendations are inaccurate. Liu Xing, head of public affairs for Doubao, said on the evening of Aug. 10 that Doubao's life services business currently has no paid promotion, hotels are not charged advertising fees for recommendations, and merchants cannot influence recommendations or ranking through payment. He said merchants pay only a channel service fee after an order is completed. The clarification narrows how Doubao's hotel monetization should be understood. While some platforms use a combined commission-and-advertising model, Liu said Doubao is currently focused mainly on charging based on completed transactions, making direct comparisons inappropriate. He added that merchants should pay closer attention to actual channel costs and the effect on incremental orders, and said Doubao's life services business remains at a very early stage of exploration.