Tencent Opens WeChat to Handset Makers’ AI Assistants

1. [para. 1][para. 2] Tencent Holdings Ltd. is partnering with major Chinese smartphone manufacturers to integrate their native artificial intelligence features with WeChat, marking a rare opening of the ubiquitous super app. The collaboration relies on an “Agent-to-Agent” (A2A) protocol, which allows independent AI systems to recognize each other and securely exchange information to complete complex tasks without compromising user privacy.

2. [para. 3][para. 4][para. 5] Honor Device Co. Ltd. is the first brand to support the feature, confirmed on June 4. Users of compatible Honor devices can instruct the built-in YOYO assistant to initiate WeChat voice and video calls or send messages. A source told Caixin that half of Honor’s active devices, including its Magic8, 500, and X70 series, already support the A2A capability. Collaborations with Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo are gradually rolling out.

3. [para. 6] The smartphone integrations coincide with mounting investor excitement over Tencent’s AI initiatives. The company’s shares jumped 10% on June 2, pushing its market capitalization past HK$4 trillion ($510 billion), driven by foreign media reports that WeChat’s own AI agent could clear regulatory hurdles as early as June. However, Caixin learned that the WeChat agent remains in internal testing with no definitive launch timeline.

4. [para. 7][para. 8] The integration follows a period of friction among smartphone manufacturers, AI developers, and app providers. In December 2025, ByteDance released a technical preview of its Doubao mobile assistant on a ZTE prototype phone; two days later, WeChat blocked the service over security concerns, prompting ByteDance to disable the assistant’s WeChat control features. With nearly 1.4 billion users, WeChat has historically maintained a strict walled garden. In 2017, Tencent accused Huawei of invading user privacy over an early AI feature that analyzed WeChat data to recommend restaurants.

5. [para. 9] Tencent chairman Pony Ma recently reiterated his opposition to third-party AI assistants that screen-record user devices, calling the method “extremely unsafe and irresponsible.” President Martin Lau said in March that the company is exploring ways to build practical AI functions into WeChat, though he acknowledged the challenge of balancing utility with the privacy of its massive user base.