ByteDance, the Chinese technology company behind Doubao, and Alibaba Group NYSE:BABA, the Chinese e-commerce and cloud technology company behind Qwen, are pulling back AI companion features as Beijing prepares to enforce new rules on human interactions with artificial intelligence. Doubao, described as China's most popular AI chatbot, will shut down a feature on July 15 that allows users to create customized AI personas, according to an app notification seen by Bloomberg News. The notice pointed users toward a separate standalone companion app, while Alibaba's Qwen and Tencent Holdings' (TCEHY) Yuanbao have issued similar alerts, according to local media reports.
The sudden retreat comes as new Chinese regulations are set to take effect in mid-July, tightening oversight of humanlike AI services. The rules, first unveiled in April and driven by the Cyberspace Administration of China, appear focused on concerns that AI chatbots can simulate human personalities and emotions in ways that may lead users, especially minors, to form unhealthy attachments. Beijing's framework bars platforms from generating content that triggers extreme emotions in minors or fosters emotional dependencies that could weaken real-world relationships, while also restricting providers from using sensitive user conversation data to train future AI models.
For investors, the shift suggests China's AI platforms may face a more constrained product environment just as conversational AI and companion-style services continue to attract user interest. Chinese chatbot platforms have long allowed users to customize AI agents through simple text prompts, with popular uses including virtual boyfriends and girlfriends, unlicensed digital therapists, and simulated clones of pop idols. The regulatory pressure may also spill beyond software, as two Chinese robotics industry groups are reportedly pushing for guardrails around companion bots at a time when companion robots and full-size humanoids are moving further into consumer homes.