Tencent, the Chinese multinational tech company, hopes to launch its own artificial intelligence (AI) agent in the world’s most widely-used app WeChat, the company reported to the Financial Times last week. The $72 Billion tech giant is reportedly testing a prototype that could allow its users to complete a task by giving it a conversation command, rather than having to navigate the app themselves. If everything goes well, Tencent could launch a phased rollout of its AI assistant after testing the system with a limited group of external users.
Which could be a game-changer for the way Chinese citizens use apps. Instead of having to tap through menus to find a function, the user could tell WeChat what they want to do, and the AI assistant will do it for them.
WeChat is already in daily lives of millions in China; the app is used for messaging as well as online shopping, food delivery, travel bookings, payments and a large number of other services. An AI assistant could impact these areas even further and help make these activities easier.
Tencent’s new AI system can understand natural language commands, meaning that a user could type or voice a command in a conversational manner akin to speaking to a chatbot.
This would include, say, booking a restaurant, ordering groceries, paying a bill or scheduling a meeting with a contact. The user wouldn’t need to go to a different section of the app as the AI would do the work.
The system is expected to be useful in the broader ecosystem of WeChat, which has thousands of services and mini-programs to provide access to a wide range of features in a single chatting space.
Tencent is reportedly building its own AI capabilities to catch up with tougher competition in China’s AI arena. The company has identified AI as an important area in its future plans, to elevate the benefits that digital services can offer to its customers.
WeChat has over a billion users, and is the go-to platform for many daily activities in China. A successful AI product has the potential to scale quickly.
Experts are saying that AI agents could be the new thing when it comes to smartphones. Instead of opening up different apps one by one, people would increasingly use AI assistants to do work for them. The change could mean less time wasted and easier digital lives.
And it also shows what is happening with Chinese technology companies who are all asserting each other in the development of AI tools. There’s now a race across the country to create AI tech to keep users on the platform.
Tencent hasn’t announced a launch date for its AI assistant yet. It’s currently in testing, and will likely need regulatory approval before it can go on a larger scale.
If all goes well, the new technology may change the daily interaction of millions of people with WeChat, and put Tencent at the centre of the coin-driven AI race in China.
But this would most likely mean more convenience to users. You wouldn’t have to know how to set up different features. They could probably just ask WeChat what they would like, and let the AI actually do the work.
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Syed Ziyauddin is a media and international relations enthusiast with a strong academic and professional foundation. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mass Media from Jamia Millia Islamia and a Master’s in International Relations (West Asia) from the same institution.
He has work with organizations like ANN Media, TV9 Bharatvarsh, NDTV and Centre for Discourse, Fusion, and Analysis (CDFA) his core interest includes Tech, Auto and global affairs.
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