Tencent is moving closer to launching an embedded AI agent for WeChat, the ubiquitous app used by China’s 1.4bn people for everything from messaging and social media to ride-hailing and payments.
The company is testing a prototype of the agent, which can help users complete tasks within the app, and aims to start the compliance process required before a public launch as soon as this month, according to two people with knowledge of the plan.
After that, Tencent plans to test the agent on a small group of outside users before initiating a phased rollout. A public launch date has not been set because the amount of time required for the compliance process is uncertain.