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Tencent Lets AI Agent Make Purchases Through WeChat Pay

Published: Jun. 17, 2026 6:37 p.m. GMT+8

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Tencent announced on Wednesday that WeChat Pay has integrated with its self-developed AI agent WorkBuddy, enabling a closed-loop transaction within the WeChat ecosystem where AI initiates payments and completes fund deductions. Photo: VCG

Tencent Holdings Ltd. has integrated its desktop artificial intelligence (AI) agent into WeChat Pay, allowing it to search for deals, initiate purchases and complete transactions on users’ behalf within WeChat’s ecosystem.

The integration with the in-house agent, WorkBuddy, was announced Wednesday and initially covers local lifestyle services such as group-buying on Meituan.

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Tencent integrated AI agent WorkBuddy into WeChat Pay, enabling automated searches, purchases, and payments for local services via Mac.
Alibaba unveiled a major Alipay redesign with a conversational AI assistant to simplify navigation.
ByteDance launched the Nubia M153 AI phone, but rival platforms restricted access to WeChat, Taobao, and Alipay.

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Tencent Holdings Ltd.: Tencent Holdings Ltd. integrated its AI agent WorkBuddy into WeChat Pay, enabling users to search and purchase lifestyle services like Meituan deals. President Martin Lau said AI agents operating WeChat mini-programs would drive traffic for businesses. Tencent is also collaborating with Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo on agent functions.

Meituan: Meituan is integrated into Tencent's AI agent WorkBuddy via WeChat Pay, enabling users to find deals and complete purchases for group-buying services. It was among the first apps to test the WeChat AI ecosystem, offering higher-value vouchers to encourage adoption.

Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. is collaborating with Tencent to roll out AI agent functions for WeChat. The partnership involves integrating WorkBuddy features into Huawei smartphones, enabling users to access AI-driven services within WeChat's ecosystem.

Xiaomi Corporation: Xiaomi Corporation is collaborating with Tencent to roll out AI agent functions on its smartphones, as part of Tencent's strategy to integrate AI agents into WeChat's ecosystem. This partnership aims to streamline consumer services through AI-driven interactions within super apps.

OPPO Guangdong Mobile Telecommunications Co., Ltd.: OPPO Guangdong Mobile Telecommunications Co., Ltd. (Chinese: OPPO广东移动通信有限公司) is collaborating with Tencent to roll out AI agent functions, as part of a broader push by Chinese tech giants to integrate AI agents into smartphone ecosystems.

Vivo Mobile Communication Co., Ltd.: In the article, Vivo Mobile Communication Co., Ltd. is mentioned as one of the smartphone manufacturers collaborating with Tencent Holdings Ltd. to roll out AI agent functions. Vivo is working alongside Huawei, Xiaomi, and Oppo to integrate these capabilities into their devices.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.: Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. recently redesigned its Alipay app, adding a conversational AI assistant for simplified navigation. Additionally, its platforms Taobao and Alipay reportedly imposed restrictions on Nubia phones integrated with ByteDance's AI assistant, highlighting industry tensions over AI agent security.

ByteDance Ltd.: ByteDance Ltd. is focusing on hardware integration for AI. On December 1, it launched the Nubia M153 smartphone with ZTE, featuring an AI assistant powered by its Doubao LLM. The phone drew enthusiasm but faced pushback from rivals like WeChat and Alibaba apps over security and access rights.

ZTE Corporation: According to the article, ZTE Corporation co-developed the Nubia M153 prototype smartphone with ByteDance, which was launched on December 1. The phone came preinstalled with an AI assistant powered by ByteDance's Doubao large language model. The launch generated customer and investor enthusiasm but led to access restrictions from rival platforms like WeChat and Alibaba apps.

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