Tencent tests Xiaowei AI assistant inside WeChat in China
Why it matters: WeChat and Weixin reach more than 1.4 billion monthly users, giving Tencent a huge base for AI services.
Tencent is testing a native AI assistant called Xiaowei inside Weixin, the Chinese version of WeChat, as it pushes deeper into China’s crowded AI market. The company said the rollout is small-scale for now. Users can interact with Xiaowei by text or voice, talk with friends and open mini-programs, the in-app services that power everything from bookings to other daily tasks. The move could give Tencent a major distribution edge because WeChat and Weixin together have more than 1.4 billion monthly active users. Tencent has been looking for ways to build new revenue from AI while competing with Alibaba, DeepSeek and Zhipu. It also develops its own Hunyuan models.