In Depth: China Tech Giants Battle to Build the Ultimate AI Concierge

WeChat’s long-awaited artificial intelligence (AI) agent has arrived with little fanfare but sweeping implications for China’s consumer internet.

In late June, select users of Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s dominant messaging and services app noticed two green dots in the upper-left corner of their screens. Tapping them opened an AI chat window dubbed “Xiaowei,” or “Little WeChat.”