TECH

Alibaba, ByteDance Pull Persona Chatbots as China Tightens AI Rules

Published: Jul. 6, 2026 4:22 p.m. GMT+8

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On Saturday, Alibaba’s Qianwen and ByteDance’s Doubao notified users that they will discontinue services allowing them to build and chat with customizable AI characters. Photo: VCG

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and ByteDance Ltd. will take offline persona-based chatbot features on their popular artificial intelligence (AI) assistants on July 15, coinciding with the enforcement of China’s new rules governing human-like AI services.

On Saturday, Alibaba’s Qianwen and ByteDance’s Doubao notified users that they will discontinue services allowing them to build and chat with customizable AI characters. Neither company responded to Caixin’s requests for comment on the decision.

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Explore the story in 30 seconds

Alibaba and ByteDance will remove persona-based chatbot features on July 15, ahead of China's new human-like AI service regulations.
Doubao and Qianwen, with 345M and 166M monthly users, drop customizable characters; task-oriented agents remain.
Regulations require safety assessments for providers with >1M users, amid concerns over AI companion effects on social isolation and minors.

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Who’s Who

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.: Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. operates the Qianwen AI assistant, which will remove persona-based chatbot features on July 15 to comply with China’s new human-like AI regulations. Qianwen had 166 million monthly active users in March 2025. Its more task-oriented AI agents, like one on Taobao, remain functional.

ByteDance Ltd.: ByteDance Ltd. is a Chinese technology company that operates the popular AI assistant Doubao. In response to China's new regulations on human-like AI services taking effect July 15, ByteDance will remove persona-based chatbot features from Doubao, though its separate Maoxiang app will continue offering customizable AI characters.

Minimax Group Inc.: Minimax Group Inc. is a Chinese AI company with an app called Xingye, which had 2.2 million monthly active users in March 2025, according to QuestMobile. Its app was mentioned in context of regulatory changes affecting persona-based chatbots.

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What Happened When

March 2026：: Doubao and Qianwen have 345 million and 166 million monthly active users, respectively, according to QuestMobile.

April 30, 2026：: Cyberspace Administration of China issues a notice launching a four-month campaign against AI services including fortune-telling, erotic chat, and illicit synthetic content.

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