---
id: "action-subsidize-behavior"
type: "action-item"
source_timestamps: ["§ The Habit Playbook"]
tags: ["marketing-strategy", "customer-acquisition"]
related: ["framework-habit-playbook", "concept-behavioral-intervention"]
action: "Pay for the user's real-world transaction to force trial of the AI workflow."
outcome: "Users experience the ease of the AI path, initiating habit formation."
sources: ["attention"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-attention"
originDay: 4
articleStem: "hbr-tier2-07-chinese-ai-firms-habits"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2026/06/lessons-from-chinese-ai-firms-on-owning-customers-habits"
sourceTitle: "Lessons from Chinese AI Firms on Owning Customers’ Habits"
---
# Subsidize the transaction, not the subscription

## Action — Subsidize the transaction, not the subscription

**Step 2 of the [[framework-habit-playbook]].**

Reallocate customer-acquisition budgets **away from free software trials or premium feature access**. Instead, **subsidize the actual real-world transaction** the user is trying to complete (waive booking fees, pay for the first few food deliveries) **on the condition that they use the AI agent end-to-end** to complete it. This forces trial of the frictionless experience.

- **Action:** Pay for the user's real-world transaction to force trial of the AI workflow.
- **Outcome:** Users experience the ease of the AI path, initiating habit formation.

This is the operational form of a [[concept-behavioral-intervention]] (see [[entity-qwen-d4]]'s subsidies and [[entity-wechat]]'s red envelopes). Contrast the failure mode of subsidizing *access* in [[claim-instant-checkout-failure]]. **Caution (enrichment):** analysts warn subsidy-driven habits can decay once incentives end.


## Related across articles
- [[claim-subscription-vulnerability]]
- [[concept-subscription-psychology]]