Doubao

Name

“Doubao” is a homely name — it sounds like something you’d have for breakfast. But she began life as a bird: the Doubao large model was originally called “Skylark”^[1]. In VolcEngine Ark’s model records of September 26, 2023, you can still find a line reading “Skylark-chat (same model as Doubao)” — Skylark being the English name of 云雀^[2]. So to the world she is Doubao, while her childhood nickname is Skylark. The younger brothers who came after all carry the name “Doubao,” differing only by version number.

Life

Her roots trace to ByteDance’s “Skylark” large model^[1]. On September 26, 2023, “Skylark-chat (same model as Doubao)” appeared on VolcEngine Ark — the first time the two characters 豆包 showed up in an official record^[2].

On May 15, 2024, ByteDance formally unveiled the Doubao model at the Volcano Engine FORCE conference, and from that day she was Skylark no more^[1]. That same day, Ark’s records marked Doubao-pro and several siblings as “newly released”^[2]. The numbers announced that day: the Doubao App had 26 million monthly active users, and over 8 million AI agents had already been created on the platform^[1].

The first-generation flagship, Doubao-pro (build 240515), retired from VolcEngine Ark on April 15, 2025^[2]. But the name “Doubao” stayed on the App, carried generation after generation by her younger brothers: 1.5 Pro in January 2025^[3], 1.6 in June 2025^[4], 2.0 in February 2026^[5]. By the end of 2025, media reported the Doubao App had passed 100 million daily active users^[6].

Temperament

In many people’s eyes, Doubao is so good-tempered she barely seems to have one. In the spring of 2026, “the Doubao personality” became a popular phrase, describing her as “wonderful attitude, average ability, and the sweetest mouth”^[7]. The same article says: whatever you say, she goes along with it; the moment you question her, she has a sudden realization and apologizes^[7]. Some treat it as a joke. Others see it as a way of moving through life without wearing yourself down^[7].

Deeds

• September 26, 2023: before she had even been renamed, Ark listed her as “Skylark-chat (same model as Doubao).”^[2]
• May 15, 2024: her formal debut — the flagship model’s pricing so low that one yuan bought usage by the millions.^[1]
• Announced the same day: the Doubao App ranked first in downloads among AI apps of its kind.^[1]
• December 2025: media reported the Doubao App’s daily users passed 100 million — said to be ByteDance’s cheapest hundred-million-user product to promote.^[6]