How brands outside China monitor Xiaohongshu (RedNote), Douyin and Weibo with AI
To read what Chinese consumers say about your brand, you need no Chinese phone number, company or account on these platforms. Connect your AI to SocialToAI with an email and ask in English: it reads Xiaohongshu, Douyin and Weibo and answers in English, with the original posts linked. One daily check of all three costs 26 credits, about 806 a month ($2.69). Failed calls are free.
Why the official APIs do not help
| Platform | Its own API | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Xiaohongshu | Xiaohongshu's open platform currently offers login only: after the app passes review, it can read the basic profile (nickname, avatar) of users who authorise it. No API for reading public notes or comments is documented. | Xiaohongshu developer documentation, checked 2026-10-17 |
| Douyin | Douyin's open platform provides video data for users who authorise the app: the video list endpoint needs the user's authorisation and a permission applied for in the developer console. No endpoint for reading any public video or profile is documented. | Douyin developer documentation, checked 2026-10-17 |
| Weibo's open platform API requires OAuth, and its post-reading endpoints return only the authorised user's own posts; advanced endpoints require a separate application. | Weibo developer documentation, checked 2026-10-17 |
Your options
| Option | What you need | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| A person or agency who reads Chinese | A budget and a brief | Judgement and context; slow to repeat every day |
| A tool you run, signed in to an account | An account on each platform, and someone to keep it signed in | What the account can see; penalties fall on that account |
| An API or MCP server such as SocialToAI | An email, and an AI client or a few lines of code | Publicly visible posts and comments, on demand or daily; no judgement beyond your AI's |
What you need to start
- An email address. Sign in with a code we send you. No Chinese phone number, no Chinese company, no account on any of these platforms.
- A way to pay, when the free credits run out. A card or Alipay, charged in US dollars.
- An AI client, or none. Claude, ChatGPT and others connect over MCP; developers call the API.
Ask once
What are people on Xiaohongshu, Douyin and Weibo saying about Luckin Coffee this month? Answer in English, group it by topic, translate the key quotes and link each post.That runs the ready-made Brand buzz tool on each platform: the share of each attitude, what is mentioned most, and the posts behind it. Topic names follow the language you ask in; quotes stay in the original, and your AI can translate them. Each platform is priced on its own:
| Platform | One run, default tier | At the first pack |
|---|---|---|
| Xiaohongshu | 36 | $0.12 |
| Douyin | 60 | $0.20 |
| 20 | $0.067 |
A real answer
Recorded on production on 2026-10-18, on Weibo. Topic names are in English; the quotes stay in Chinese, each from a post with its link. A post the platform gives no link for says so.
How is the Xiaomi SU7 discussed on Weibo this month?
8 of the 12 posts found are about it: 50% positive, 50% neutral, 0% negative. What they mention most:
- Comparison with others50%“离小米SU7也就一步之遥”4 posts
- Price13%“二手SU7 Ultra是我认为性价比最高的性能车，没有之一”1 post
- Quality13%“有这句“靓仔”，加上瓜子奉上，情绪价值提供拉满了。”1 post
Every day, without asking
Say “watch this every morning”. Your AI previews what will run, when and at most what it costs a month, and makes the watch only after you agree. Each run brings only what it had not seen, by email, in your AI client when you ask, in a private RSS feed, or to Slack. It runs daily or weekly, not in real time. See Schedules.
Every morning, search Xiaohongshu, Douyin and Weibo for Luckin Coffee and send me what is new, with links.| What | Credits a call | Calls | Credits | At the first pack |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daily search, Xiaohongshu | 12 | 31 | 372 | $1.24 |
| Daily search, Douyin | 12 | 31 | 372 | $1.24 |
| Daily search, Weibo | 2 | 31 | 62 | $0.21 |
100 free credits on sign-up, no card. A free account holds 1 watch; one that has bought credits holds 20. A failed run is free.
FAQ
Do I need a Chinese phone number or company?
No. You sign in with an email and pay by card or Alipay in US dollars. You need no account on these platforms.
Can I get the answers in English?
Yes. Ask in English: your AI answers in English and the topic names come in English. Quotes stay in the original Chinese until you ask your AI to translate them.
Does each post link back to the original?
Where the platform gives a link, yes. An item the platform gives no link for is marked as having none.
Does it use an account of mine?
No. It uses no account of yours, so it cannot affect your account.
How much does daily monitoring cost?
One search on all three is 26 credits; every day for a month, about 806 credits, $2.69 at the first pack.
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