Yuanfudao and Beijing Normal University Launch AI Reading Product With One-on-One Socratic Companion Reading for Grades 2-6

On July 1, Yuanfudao officially launched AI Big Reading, aimed at primary school students in grades 2 to 6. The product was developed with the Children's Reading and Children's Book Evaluation Research Center of Beijing Normal University under a research project on AI-enabled personalized reading guidance for children, and uses an AI one-on-one Socratic companion reading model. It offers five levels, L2 to L6, with 12 physical books mailed home per level each year, and each book is covered in 8 sessions of 25 to 30 minutes.

The product positions AI as a questioning companion rather than a tool that gives direct answers, targeting primary school reading tutoring, a scenario where parents show clear willingness to pay, and offering a reference for how AI learning tools combine product form with content and research. Its joint research project with a university provides a trackable path for validating AI reading guidance. However, the effects described come from development-stage data and parent feedback in beta testing, with no independent research or quantitative results yet, so the extent of reading ability improvement still needs external verification. If AI one-on-one companion reading scales, it could change how primary school reading tutoring is supplied and affect parents' choices between human and AI companions. Combining physical books, paper annotation, and AI questioning offers a new product form reference for learning tools that integrate content and interaction.