Tencent (0700) has turned its generative artificial intelligence application Yuanbao into a chatbot in its mega instant messaging application WeChat – one step forward in the intensifying AI agent race.

Earlier, users needed to download the Yuanbao mobile app or visit the website to use the large language model – LLM – of ChatGPT or DeepSeek.

Today, Tencent’s Yuanbao can be found by searching for it within WeChat and the application can be added like a human contact.

In a welcome message sent by Yuanbao, the AI said it could help users analyze articles, documents and pictures. In a test by The Standard, it gave a summary of a table of recent Chinese announcements about merger and acquisitions within seconds.

The integration into WeChat – which hosts 1.385 billion users – has made the agent even more accessible. This comes as tech companies including Alibaba (9988) are stepping up efforts to push forward the application of LLMs.

Apart from accessing AI services through mobile apps, phone makers like Apple and Honor experiment with integrating LLMs within their operating systems, aiming to turn the device itself into an AI agent.

In February, Yuanbao announced that it provides two LLMs for free – Tencent’s in-house model Hunyuan and DeepSeek by the same-name startup – and topped the free app download chart in mainland China’s app store in early March.

However, when asked about which LLM the Yuanbao chatbot is using, the tool first answered that “no third-party model” has been used. After being shown the news about the access to DeepSeek, Yuanbao corrected its answer, indicating there is still room to improve accuracy for the application.

The AI competition among tech giants has recently intensified. Tencent spent 39 billion yuan (HK$41.42 billion) to support the development of its AI initiatives in the fourth quarter of 2024 and pledged to further step up capital expenditure this year.

Alibaba – vowing to pour over 380 billion yuan into its cloud services and AI hardware infrastructure in the next three years – announced cooperation with a new AI agent tool Manus in March.

THEMIS QI

Tencent's Yuanbao AI app transforms into WeChat chatbot