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AI & Machine Learning Tencent

Tencent Tests AI Assistant Xiaowei Inside WeChat Super App

The Chinese tech giant has begun a rollout of an AI assistant within WeChat, allowing select users to complete tasks via text or voice through the app's mini-programme ecosystem.

by tickstock newsroom
The image displays a close-up view of a smartphone screen showing the WeChat login interface. The background features a plant and a coffee cup, suggesting a casual setting where the app may be used for communication and social interaction.

Tencent Holdings has started testing a new artificial intelligence assistant inside WeChat as it looks to close the gap on rivals in China's fast-moving AI market.

WeChat, known as Weixin in China and one of the country's most widely used super apps, confirmed in a statement on 22 June that the assistant, named Xiaowei, is currently available to a number of users.

Xiaowei accepts input via text or voice and can help users complete tasks by drawing on WeChat's network of mini-apps, the embedded lightweight programmes that underpin much of the platform's commercial and service activity.

The rollout positions WeChat as a late but strategically significant entrant in China's AI assistant race, where rivals have moved aggressively to embed generative AI into consumer-facing products.

by tickstock newsroom
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