Despite ranking first in app charts across more than 140 countries and regions globally, DeepSeek has encountered a cold reception in Australia. Why is this happening?
On February 17, 2025, in the business school library of the University of Melbourne, Australia, international student Kay was researching a new business project. When she habitually opened DeepSeek to help generate a framework, the "403 Forbidden" prompt that appeared on her screen stunned her—this was the third Australian university to ban DeepSeek use this week.
While DeepSeek went viral in China during this year's Spring Festival with domestic news flooding social media—"Pride of Chinese Industry," "Surpassing OpenAI," "Outperforming ChatGPT"—with some even calling it a "shining moment" for Chinese AI technology, the reception in Australia tells a different story.
In just 25 days after launch, DeepSeek garnered 40 million downloads, exceeding ChatGPT's first-month download volume. By the last week of January, DeepSeek added 100 million new users in just seven days, reaching a cumulative user base of 125 million.
Despite ranking first in app charts across more than 140 countries and regions globally, DeepSeek has encountered a cold reception in Australia. Why is this happening?
1. Chinese AI: Blocked at Australia's Door
The most direct reason comes from the Australian government's "ban order."
In early 2025, the Australian Federal Government announced a comprehensive ban on DeepSeek use in government departments and institutions, citing "data security and national interest considerations." Subsequently, top universities in the Group of Eight (Go8) alliance followed suit, blocking access to DeepSeek.
"Our university directly blocked DeepSeek's URL—it's completely inaccessible on campus networks," Max (pseudonym), a third-year computer science student at the University of Melbourne, expressed with resignation during an interview on March 20, 2025. "I used to use it regularly for programming assignments because it understood both Chinese and English instructions quickly, but now I can only use it at home on my own network."
Meanwhile, the Australian Department of Home Affairs' "Critical Technology Risk Assessment Report" officially prohibited DeepSeek use in government and university settings. Beyond this, Australia Post, NBN, Optus, Telstra, and other major state-owned enterprises and carriers almost simultaneously issued internal directives prohibiting employees from using DeepSeek on company devices.
In other words, using this application could risk sensitive information from Australian government or institutions being accessed by the Chinese government. This mirrors past Australian actions taken for national security reasons, such as banning Huawei's 5G equipment and restricting TikTok use on government phones. Australia's vigilance toward Chinese tech companies continues unabated.
Compared to "American-made" ChatGPT and Claude, DeepSeek's "Chinese label" makes Australian government and institutions more "wary."
In this environment, AI products with a "Chinese background" struggle to escape the inherent label of "national security risk."
2. Chinese AI: The Conversation That Never Happened
Australian cultural habits have also formed an "invisible barrier" against DeepSeek.
Beyond policy factors, DeepSeek faces recognition challenges at the user level in Australia.
Looking at search trends, according to Google search trend data, DeepSeek experienced a brief explosive global attention in late January 2025—with Google trend index surging 50-fold in one week, reaching a peak value of 100. This wave of interest primarily came from mainland China (trend index 100), as well as Hong Kong, Singapore, and other regions, with attention briefly surpassing ChatGPT during the same period. However, in Australia, DeepSeek's search interest did not enter the top rankings. In the Australian regional search interest comparison, ChatGPT's interest index was 100, Claude's was 43, while DeepSeek's was merely 9.
From a geographical distribution perspective, DeepSeek's search interest was relatively higher in Chinese population centers like Sydney and Melbourne, while in other regions it barely registered effective search volume.
GitHub statistics show that among Australian developers, projects using OpenAI API account for 76% of AI-related development, those using Google AI account for 11%, while projects using DeepSeek open-source models account for just 2.3%.
Australian adoption of AI products has rapidly climbed in recent years. A January 2025 survey showed that 49% of Australians had used generative AI in the past year, a significant increase from 38% in 2023. Local user adoption of ChatGPT was equally impressive, reaching a penetration rate of approximately 20% in just six months. In the second half of 2024, with ChatGPT feature upgrades (such as the GPT-4 model and multimodal inputs), usage rates climbed further. Some reports even claim that by the end of 2024, nearly half of Australian internet users had used some form of generative AI tool.
In stark contrast, while DeepSeek has attracted millions of user registrations globally, it has almost no enterprise deployment cases locally in Australia, and no reliable statistics show usage proportions among ordinary Australian users. The situation is similar in developer communities like GitHub, where Australian developers are more enthusiastic about experimenting with and improving American open-source models (like Meta's LLaMA) or calling OpenAI's API, with very few participating in DeepSeek-related open-source projects.
According to Max, Australian student groups are also quite indifferent: "Students regularly use ChatGPT for homework, but almost no one specifically researches newly released AI models. DeepSeek, Wenxin Yiyan? Nobody discusses them."
"Even when they use AI, they use the familiar ChatGPT. They're not interested in Chinese technology."
However, as a phenomenon-level AI tool from China, DeepSeek's recognition in Australia falls far short of ChatGPT. For many ordinary Australians, "DeepSeek" remains an unfamiliar name. Local users prioritize familiar domestic or Euro-American tech brands. In daily life, AI tools from American brands like Google and OpenAI are Australian users' first choice.
For instance, when people think of search engines, they think of Google, and when they think of AI chat, they immediately think of ChatGPT or Siri. For an AI chat model developed in China, most white Australian users lack both understanding and motivation to use it.
In interviews, some local Australian employees mentioned that AI tools commonly used internally at their companies are typically integrated services provided by Microsoft, Google, and others, and they had "almost never heard of" DeepSeek.
Australian users habitually "stick with what they know" and their perception of AI products is highly dependent on Euro-American brands. From Google, OpenAI to Microsoft Azure, mature brands are backed by comprehensive localization support and stable ecosystems. In contrast, although DeepSeek possesses the technical capabilities of "multilingual, strong reasoning," it is too unfamiliar to Australians and lacks a "sense of trust."
3. Giant Monopolies: Difficult to Break Through
In Australia's AI market landscape, American tech giants firmly maintain dominant positions. DeepSeek faces formidable competition from "elder brothers" like OpenAI, Microsoft, Google, and Anthropic.
"Federal government, the Big Four banks, consulting firms, insurance institutions—they all exclusively use AI services from OpenAI, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure. They're unwilling to learn about new AI tools, and there's no reason for them to," stated a Chinese professional who has worked at Accenture in Melbourne for many years.
OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, and similar companies not only provide leading AI models but also embed AI services into the daily applications of Australian businesses and consumers through their ecosystems. ChatGPT needs no introduction; due to OpenAI's deep collaboration with Microsoft, its GPT models are rapidly integrating into Microsoft Office 365 suite and Azure cloud services, permeating office software and cloud computing platforms. Meanwhile, Google is comprehensively deploying AI across its search engine, cloud services, and new Bard chatbot. For the Australian market, these international giants have accumulated years of brand trust and business relationships, making it easier for local enterprises to procure and adopt their solutions.
Major Australian companies typically adopt AI technologies through collaborations with these leading vendors. For instance, in the consulting services sector, KPMG, one of the Big Four consulting firms, launched its internal generative AI chat tool "KymChat" as early as 2023 and made it available to clients. KymChat is not a self-developed large language model but is built on Microsoft 365 Copilot and Azure OpenAI services. Industry leaders like KPMG prefer to deploy AI based on Microsoft's mature platform, even if it requires paying substantial licensing fees.
Similarly, in banking, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) partnered with Amazon AWS to pilot a GPT model-powered customer service chatbot called "Hey CommBank." CBA also became the first Australian company to adopt AWS high-performance AI chips and the SageMaker platform to build an AI factory, exploring the application of generative AI in customer service and operations.
Australian companies tend to partner with reliable American cloud and AI vendors, introducing verified AI solutions rather than attempting untested emerging models.
DeepSeek attempted to enter the market with open-source and low-cost strategies, hoping to counter the giants, but failed to gain traction in Australia. DeepSeek's models are reportedly massive in parameter scale and open-source free, which theoretically appeals to budget-conscious enterprises. However, for large Australian organizations, AI investment is more a strategic consideration than purely a cost concern.
DeepSeek's open-source, low-cost, and strong reasoning capabilities do not constitute core selling points in Australia—in Australian eyes, "local deployment + American brand" is the source of trust.
TPG, an Australian telecommunications operator's technical security director, was candid: "As a provider of essential telco services that Australians rely on every day, we are cautious about introducing new and unproven technologies into our systems," he said. "Rushing into using new and untested AI models like DeepSeek just to save a few bucks is not worth risking the safety and security of Australians."
Rather than low cost, they value trustworthiness and security of technology. While open-source means free, it also means lacking official support and assuming risks, especially when open-source projects come from China, as enterprises must consider implicit regulatory and supply chain risks.
4. Chinese Community: Limited Penetration in the Gap
In comparison, the Chinese community in Australia shows different levels of interest and acceptance toward DeepSeek.
Many Chinese professionals learned about DeepSeek's launch through Chinese media and showed interest in its underlying Chinese large language model technology. In conversations with several Chinese professionals in Australia, EqualOcean learned that DeepSeek performs exceptionally well in handling Chinese content, such as understanding and translating complex long sentences more accurately and naturally. They indicated that if their work involves Chinese-English bilingual translation or communication with Chinese clients, DeepSeek generates more authentic Chinese responses, reducing the need for secondary polishing.
However, they also admitted that because DeepSeek is prohibited by company IT policies, they can only try it on personal devices and cannot truly integrate it into daily workflows. Therefore, even if Chinese users acknowledge DeepSeek's advantages in Chinese language capabilities, they are restricted by usage environments.
For international students, language presents a major challenge in learning and daily life. An AI assistant that can provide help in their native language is undoubtedly very attractive.
Some Chinese international students say DeepSeek potentially outperforms ChatGPT in understanding textbooks and assisting with thesis summaries, especially in scenarios involving translating English materials or communicating with supervisors, where DeepSeek has natural language advantages. However, Australian universities' attitudes toward this Chinese AI disappoint them. Since multiple universities have already listed DeepSeek as not recommended for use, and campus networks may restrict access to it.
"Wanting to use it but unable to" has become the predicament for many Chinese students. One Chinese student at the University of Sydney mentioned that library computers cannot access DeepSeek's website, forcing them to barely access it through mobile data, which still can't avoid the school's AI usage regulations. He said: "The school is concerned about academic integrity issues. We're already using ChatGPT cautiously, and we dare not use DeepSeek even more. If it's considered a violation, that would cause more trouble."
The Australian Chinese community both shows interest and harbors concerns about DeepSeek. On one hand, they recognize DeepSeek's capabilities in Chinese language processing and are willing to try it in informal settings; on the other hand, influenced by surrounding policies and environment, most of them don't use DeepSeek as their primary daily tool. Some Chinese users even worry that DeepSeek might have built-in content censorship, with less open responses to certain politically sensitive issues compared to ChatGPT, diminishing their perception of DeepSeek's practical value.
Although DeepSeek offers obvious language advantages, external limitations and self-doubts make it difficult to promote widely among overseas Chinese.
5. Chinese AI Going Global: The China-Australia Disparity
DeepSeek's obstacles in Australia also provide a glimpse into the common "technology-market" misalignment faced by Chinese AI companies in their global expansion.
From a technical perspective, DeepSeek's featured "ultra-long text processing" and "reasoning capabilities" show impressive performance in Chinese environments. Some industry insiders even compare its capabilities in complex dialogue scenarios to GPT-4 Turbo, particularly with better understanding and generation effects in Chinese contexts.
But these "technical selling points" have not created attraction in Australia. On one hand, local mainstream enterprises and users care more about "seamless integration into existing workflows." While DeepSeek offers open-source and API support, it lacks "soft stickiness" for Australian local users compared to ecosystem barriers formed by Microsoft, Google, and other tech giants with Office, Azure, Google Cloud, and similar ecosystems.
On the other hand, Chinese AI excels in Chinese environments but still struggles to compete with American products like ChatGPT and Claude in fine-tuning and product optimization for English long texts and Australian localization scenarios.
The Australian market is dominated by the Anglo-American cultural sphere, with OpenAI forming deep bindings with Microsoft and Google, creating a full-stack monopolistic pattern of "technology + ecosystem + service." In comparison, Chinese AI companies like DeepSeek and Wenxin Yiyan, while possessing global competitiveness in technology and algorithms, lack deep understanding of local enterprise business scenarios and compliance requirements, as well as endorsements from major ecosystem partners.
Furthermore, as developed markets like Australia increasingly emphasize AI "transparency" and "accountability," emerging Chinese AI like DeepSeek still has shortcomings in building overseas trust systems due to issues with information disclosure and model openness.
DeepSeek's cold reception in Australia reflects a common non-technical challenge for Chinese AI going global—how to rebuild "brand trust" in international markets and how to break through multiple games of policy, security, and ecosystem systems.
Some Chinese AI teams have begun to realize that "technological breakthroughs" alone are insufficient to win international market favor. Facing relatively conservative overseas markets like Australia and Europe, Chinese AI enterprises often fall into the predicament of "strong technology, weak market" if they lack systematic "localization + compliance + ecosystem" strategies.
To some extent, this is also an important reason why DeepSeek failed to shake Australia's mainstream AI market.
As some AI industry observers point out, "The biggest challenge for Chinese AI models going global is not technological inferiority, but brand recognition, ecosystem integration, and trust barriers. This is not only DeepSeek's dilemma but also the reality faced by the vast majority of Chinese AI enterprises."
Perhaps DeepSeek will become a "locally hot" presence in Australia's AI circle—still "secretly used" by the Chinese community and curious developers, but in the short term, DeepSeek will struggle to truly enter Australia's mainstream market.
In Australia, the fact that no one uses DeepSeek may not be due to insufficient technical capabilities, but rather a series of invisible cultural, market, and political thresholds that have quietly blocked it across the ocean.
