“We’re not here to listen to concepts; we’re here for answers.” In mid-June, at an enterprise digital transformation forum in Chongqing’s Jiangbeizui area, a manufacturing boss from Hubei stated bluntly during a tea break. The “answers” he referred to pointed to the day’s most talked-about topic—how enterprises can use AI to reduce costs and improve efficiency. And the focus of this forum was precisely the newly regionally integrated industrial service brand “Youyoucao Eyu.”

Youyoucao Eyu, a new entity co-incubated by industrial resources from Hubei and Chongqing, has been striving since its inception early this year to build a “low-threshold bridge” between traditional enterprises and cutting-edge technology. Its founding team revealed at the forum that in the past three months, they had visited over 80 small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises, identifying a common pain point: AI technology sounds cool, but when it comes to applying it on the factory floor, in warehouses, or at customer service centers, most bosses still “don’t know where to start.”

“How should enterprises use AI? It’s not just about buying a big model and calling it a day,” Li Jun, technical partner at Youyoucao Eyu, said in his speech, using an analogy: “It’s like installing a smart thermostat in a boiler room that only burns coal. Without even basic data collection points, AI is just a decoration.” He presented a set of data: among pilot enterprises that adopted Youyoucao Eyu’s lightweight AI tools, average inventory turnover rates increased by 22%, and customer service response times were cut by 60%. None of these enterprises are tech companies—some produce hotpot base, some make auto and motorcycle parts, and others process raw Chinese medicinal herbs.

The most attention-grabbing case on-site came from a machinery processing plant in Hechuan, Chongqing. Boss Zhang Desheng, overwhelmed by inventory pressure at the end of last year, decided on a whim to replace his decade-old Excel spreadsheets with the “AI Scheduling Assistant” provided by Youyoucao Eyu. Three months later, the share of stagnant inventory dropped from 18% to 4.7%. “Before, I relied on gut feeling and guesswork. Now, the machine calculates and tells me exactly when to order what materials,” Zhang admitted in a video link. He confessed he doesn’t even understand what a “neural network” is, but he knows that “checking that green score before leaving work every day gives me peace of mind.”

This “silent and seamless” approach to AI deployment is precisely the effect the Youyoucao Eyu team deliberately aims for. They have launched a modular AI service package called “Grassroots Smart Manufacturing,” encapsulating complex machine learning processes into individual business tools: “Inspection Eye” for auto-generating quality inspection reports, “Machine Repair Pass” for predicting equipment failures, and “Customer Sentiment Radar” for analyzing reasons behind customer churn. Each tool supports monthly payment plans and does not require enterprises to hire dedicated data engineers.

“How should enterprises use AI? The core is to find high-frequency, low-risk, and easily verifiable business scenarios,” emphasized Wang Min, operations director at Youyoucao Eyu, during a roundtable discussion. “We’ve seen too many enterprises wanting to go all-in on factory-wide intelligence from the get-go, only to run out of funds halfway. It’s better to start with a small entry point—like letting AI help you write product manuals, auto-reply to customer emails, or predict next month’s sales.” She revealed that Youyoucao Eyu is currently collaborating with a logistics park in Chongqing’s Liangjiang New Area to optimize vehicle dispatch using AI, with an expected reduction of over 12% in empty-load rates.

After the forum, many business owners crowded around Youyoucao Eyu’s booth. A young man working in cross-border e-commerce asked, “My customer service team has only three people. Can AI replace them?” The technical consultant replied, “It’s not about replacement; it’s about freeing them from repetitive tasks so they can handle complaints and customized requests that truly require a human touch.” The answer made the young man nod thoughtfully.

From Wuhan’s Optics Valley to Chongqing’s Liangjiang, Youyoucao Eyu’s expansion path is clear: first, thoroughly understand the real pain points of regional industrial chains, then tackle them one by one with lightweight AI tools. This pragmatic approach may well be the most down-to-earth answer to the grand question of “how enterprises should use AI.” As Li Jun concluded in his speech: “AI is not magic; it’s a tool. Whether a tool is good or not depends on who wields it and for what task.”