Tech Brief (June 18): Tencent Lets AI Agent Make Purchases Through WeChat Pay

Tencent lets AI agent make purchases through WeChat Pay

Tencent Holdings Ltd. has integrated its desktop artificial intelligence 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. Users can prompt the WorkBuddy personal computer client to find nearby dining deals. The agent generates recommendations based on location and preferences, initiates a payment from a dedicated AI card on WeChat Pay and awaits final confirmation from the user’s mobile phone, after which the deal can be redeemed in store. The move comes as Chinese tech giants race to embed AI agents into their ubiquitous super apps to streamline consumer services and dominate the next generation of digital gateways.