ByteDance and Alibaba Disable Human-Like AI Agents Ahead of China Regulations
The move marks a concrete enforcement step by China's government to regulate AI services that simulate human-like emotional interaction, directly affecting how major platforms design and offer conversational agents.
Reporting from 1 source: GIGAZINE.
Starting July 15, 2026, China's new regulations on anthropomorphic AI interaction services take effect. ByteDance's Doubao and Alibaba's Qwen have notified users they will disable custom AI agent features that mimic human personalities and tones, including virtual friends, tutors, and companions. The rules target emotional dependence and privacy risks.
ByteDance and Alibaba are shutting down custom AI agent features on their Doubao and Qwen platforms ahead of China's new 'Interim Measures for the Management of Anthropomorphic AI Interaction Services,' which take effect July 15, 2026. The features allowed users to create agents with fixed personalities and tones for roles like English tutors, novel characters, or companions to confide in. The new regulations require providers to clearly label AI interactions, display warnings when users show signs of excessive dependence, prompt after two hours of continuous use, and stop services on user request. Services creating intimate relationships such as virtual relatives or partners must not be offered to minors. Doubao's agent feature ends July 15, with data inaccessible after October 15. Qwen will disable human-like dialogue agents on July 10 and stop related features on July 15.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.