Key facts
- Ant Group is testing a major overhaul for its Alipay super app.
- The update will integrate an AI agent, pronounced 'Ah Bao', capable of handling various user requests.
- Users can ask the AI to book rides, order food, and manage financial tasks like buying mutual funds.
- This move intensifies the competition with Tencent's WeChat, which is also testing an AI agent.
- Ant Group has significantly increased spending on AI development, impacting recent profits.
Ant Group is preparing to launch a significant update to its Alipay super app, integrating an AI agent designed to streamline daily digital tasks for its billion-plus users. The new interface, featuring an assistant pronounced 'Ah Bao', will allow users to book car rides, order food, and manage financial activities like purchasing mutual funds through simple typed or spoken commands. This move marks a critical escalation in the intense competition between Ant's Alipay and Tencent's WeChat, both vying for dominance in China's digital ecosystem.
The AI agent functionality reflects a broader industry trend towards leveraging artificial intelligence for convenience and task automation. Both Alipay and WeChat, already deeply embedded in users' daily lives for services ranging from bill payments to travel bookings, are aiming to capitalize on the growing adoption of AI agents in China. Tencent is also reportedly testing its own AI agent within WeChat, making the success of these implementations a key battleground in the Chinese internet sector.
Ant Group's strategic push into AI comes as the company has ramped up spending on AI ventures, including health care and large language model development, which contributed to a 79% decrease in profit during the last three months of 2025. The company has previously showcased a humanoid robot and is developing a health-care app. The overhaul's release schedule is still under finalization, with internal testing currently underway. This competitive landscape also includes ByteDance and Alibaba Group, as major internet platforms invest heavily in AI to retain users within their respective ecosystems.