海螺AI (MiniMax) Complete Guide: From Beginner to Expert

Overview

海螺AI, developed by MiniMax, is a cutting-edge multimodal AI assistant that seamlessly integrates the understanding and generation of text, images, audio, and video. Launched as part of MiniMax’s mission to build general artificial intelligence with human-like perception and expression, 海螺AI stands out in 2026 as one of China’s most advanced conversational AI platforms. Unlike traditional chatbots limited to text, 海螺AI leverages deep neural networks trained on massive cross-modal datasets, enabling it to interpret and generate rich media content in natural, context-aware ways.

Accessible via web at https://hailuoai.com, 海螺AI is designed for both individual users and enterprise developers. It supports dynamic interactions such as voice conversations, image creation from text prompts, music composition, video summarization, and real-time multilingual translation. With a freemium business model, it balances accessibility with premium capabilities, making it ideal for creative professionals, educators, developers, and businesses aiming to integrate AI into customer service or content workflows. This guide walks you through everything you need to know—from setup to expert-level applications.

Core Features

海螺AI offers a powerful suite of multimodal AI capabilities. Below is a detailed breakdown of its core features:

Feature	Description	Input Modalities	Output Modalities
Text-to-Text Conversations	Engage in intelligent, context-aware dialogues with memory retention across sessions. Supports role-playing, coding help, tutoring, and brainstorming.	Text	Text
Image Generation	Create high-quality, stylized images from natural language prompts. Supports multiple art styles (realistic, anime, digital painting) and aspect ratios.	Text (prompt), optional image reference	Image (PNG/JPG)
Voice Synthesis (TTS)	Generate lifelike speech in multiple languages and voices. Ideal for audiobooks, voiceovers, and interactive agents.	Text	Audio (MP3/WAV)
Audio Understanding & Music Creation	Transcribe spoken audio, analyze sentiment, and generate original music tracks based on mood or genre.	Audio (MP3, WAV), text prompt	Audio (music), transcription (text)
Video Analysis & Summarization	Upload videos for scene detection, object recognition, transcript generation, and key moment extraction.	Video (MP4, MOV)	Text summary, timestamps, subtitles
Multimodal Reasoning	Combine inputs like image + text to answer complex questions (e.g., “What’s happening in this photo?” or “Explain this chart”).	Text + Image/Audio/Video	Text
Real-Time Voice Chat	Speak naturally to 海螺AI using your microphone; receive spoken responses with emotional tone matching.	Audio (live or file)	Audio (generated speech)
API Access (Enterprise)	Integrate 海螺AI into apps, websites, or internal tools via RESTful APIs with SDKs for Python, JavaScript, and Java.	All modalities via API	All modalities via API

These features are unified under a single AI model architecture—MiniMax’s proprietary HyperNova series—which powers both the consumer-facing 海螺AI app and backend enterprise services.

How to Use 海螺AI

Step 1: Sign Up and Log In

1. Go to https://hailuoai.com.
2. Click “注册” (Sign Up) and register using your email, phone number, or WeChat.
3. Verify your account via SMS or email.
4. Log in to access the dashboard.

💡 Tip: New users get 100 free credits upon registration (enough for ~20 image generations or 30 minutes of voice synthesis).

Step 2: Navigate the Interface

The interface has four main tabs:

• 聊天 (Chat) – Default mode for text and voice conversations.
• 绘画 (Draw) – For generating images from text prompts.
• 音频 (Audio) – For TTS, music generation, and audio analysis.
• 视频 (Video) – For uploading and analyzing videos.

Each tab includes a history panel showing past interactions.

Step 3: Start a Multimodal Conversation

Example: Ask About an Image

1. In 聊天 mode, click the + 图片 button and upload a photo (e.g., a street food market).
2. Type: “这是哪里？人们在吃什么？”
3. 海螺AI will analyze the image and respond: “This appears to be a night market in Taipei. People are eating stinky tofu, oyster omelets, and bubble tea.”

🔊 To enable voice input/output:

• Click the microphone icon to speak.
• Toggle “语音回复” (Voice Response) in settings to hear replies.

Step 4: Generate an Image

1. Switch to the 绘画 tab.
2. Enter a prompt in Chinese or English:
   一只机械猫在月球上弹钢琴，赛博朋克风格
   (A robotic cat playing piano on the moon, cyberpunk style)
3. Select image size: 1:1, 16:9, or 9:16.
4. Choose style: Realistic / Anime / Oil Painting / etc.
5. Click 生成 (Generate).
6. Wait 10–30 seconds. Download or share the result.

⚠️ Each generation costs 5–10 credits depending on resolution and complexity.

Step 5: Create Voice Content

Option A: Text-to-Speech

1. Go to 音频 > 文本转语音.
2. Paste text: “欢迎使用海螺AI，您的智能多模态助手。”
3. Choose voice: Male/Female, emotion (happy, calm, excited), language (Mandarin, English, Japanese, etc.).
4. Preview and export as MP3.

Option B: Generate Background Music

1. Select 音乐生成.
2. Enter: “lo-fi hip hop beat with rain sounds, relaxing”
3. Set duration: 1 min / 3 min / 5 min.
4. Generate and download.

Step 6: Analyze a Video

1. Upload a short video (<5 minutes, <500MB) in the 视频 tab.
2. Choose analysis type:
   • 自动生成字幕 (Auto-subtitle)
   • 内容摘要 (Summary)
   • 关键帧提取 (Keyframe extraction)
3. Wait for processing (~1 minute per minute of video).
4. View results: timeline with captions, summary paragraph, and exported thumbnails.

Step 7: Use API (For Developers)

1. Visit https://api.minimax.io and log in.
2. Create a project and obtain your API Key.
3. Install SDK:

   pip install minimax-sdk
   

4. Example: Generate text response

   from minimax import TextCompletion
   
   response = TextCompletion.create(
       model="abab6-chat",
       prompt="解释量子纠缠",
       api_key="your_api_key_here"
   )
   print(response.text)
   

See full API docs for image, audio, and video endpoints.

Pricing

海螺AI follows a freemium model, offering basic access for free while charging for higher usage and advanced features.

Plan	Price (CNY)	Monthly Credits	Key Features
Free	¥0	100 credits/month	Basic chat, low-res image gen (5 uses), 10 mins TTS, no API access
Pro Individual	¥49/month	1,000 credits	HD image gen (unlimited), music creation, video analysis, voice chat, priority support
Pro Plus	¥129/month	3,000 credits + rollover	All Pro features + custom voices, batch processing, team sharing
Enterprise	Custom (contact sales)	Dedicated credits, SLA	Full API access, private deployment, SSO, audit logs, fine-tuning

💬 Notes:

• 1 credit ≈ 1 text query or 1 image generation at standard quality.
• Extra credits can be purchased: ¥10 for 200 credits.
• Students and educators qualify for 50% discount with .edu email.

All plans include end-to-end encryption and compliance with China’s PIPL and AI regulations.

Use Cases

1. Content Creators & Artists

Use 海螺AI to rapidly prototype visual concepts, generate social media assets, compose background music, and create voiceovers—all within one platform. For example:

• Generate Instagram post images from brief descriptions.
• Compose ambient music for YouTube videos.
• Dub scripts into natural-sounding Mandarin or English.

✅ Benefit: Reduces production time from hours to minutes.

2. Educators & Trainers

Teachers can use 海螺AI to:

• Turn lesson plans into illustrated stories or animated scripts.
• Generate quizzes from textbook passages.
• Provide multilingual explanations for ESL students.
• Convert lectures into summarized transcripts with keywords.

🎯 Ideal for flipped classrooms and online course creators.

3. Customer Support Automation (Enterprise)

Businesses integrate 海螺AI via API to power:

• Multilingual chatbots that understand uploaded images (e.g., customers sending photos of broken products).
• Voice assistants in call centers that respond in natural tones.
• Automated video tutorials generated from product manuals.

🏢 Example: An e-commerce company uses 海螺AI to let users take a photo of clothing and ask, “Where can I buy something like this?” The system identifies items and suggests links.

Pros & Cons

✅ Pros

Advantage	Explanation
True Multimodal Integration	Unlike tools that specialize in one modality, 海螺AI natively understands combinations of text, image, audio, and video.
High-Quality Voice Synthesis	Offers some of the most natural-sounding TTS in Chinese, with emotional variation and prosody control.
User-Friendly Interface	Clean design makes advanced AI accessible even to non-technical users.
Strong API & Developer Tools	Well-documented REST APIs, SDKs, and sandbox environments for rapid integration.
Localized for Chinese Market	Optimized for Mandarin language, cultural context, and local compliance standards.

❌ Cons

Limitation	Impact
Limited Free Tier Usage	Heavy users quickly exhaust 100 monthly credits, requiring upgrade.
No Offline Mode	Requires constant internet connection; not suitable for low-bandwidth areas.
Occasional Hallucinations in Complex Queries	Like all LLMs, may invent details when reasoning across modalities under ambiguity.
Image Copyright Ambiguity	Generated images cannot be trademarked; commercial rights require Pro Plus plan.

Alternatives

While 海螺AI excels in multimodal integration—especially in Chinese contexts—several alternatives exist:

Tool	Key Differences	Best For
通义千问 (Qwen) by Alibaba	Stronger in code and enterprise knowledge bases. Less focus on audio/video.	Developers, technical documentation, Alibaba Cloud users
文心一言 (ERNIE Bot) by Baidu	Deeper integration with search and Baidu ecosystem. Weaker in image/audio quality.	SEO content, research, Chinese web indexing
ChatGPT (OpenAI) + DALL·E + Whisper	More mature ecosystem globally. Requires multiple tools/accounts. No native Chinese optimization.	International teams, English-first workflows, OpenAI plugin users

🆚 Verdict: Choose 海螺AI if you need native multimodal AI with strong Chinese support. Choose Qwen or ERNIE for deeper enterprise integration. Choose ChatGPT for global reach and third-party tooling.

Disclaimer

This guide is based on publicly available information about 海螺AI (MiniMax) as of May 2026, including official documentation, reviews from ChoZan.co, UCStrategies.com, and direct testing on hailuoai.com. Pricing, features, and availability are subject to change. Always refer to the official MiniMax website and 海螺AI platform for the latest updates. The author is not affiliated with MiniMax or its subsidiaries. Use of AI-generated content should comply with local laws, intellectual property rights, and ethical guidelines.