China's fintech company Ant Group is testing a major revamp that introduces an AI agent interface to the Alipay super app, Bloomberg News reported on Saturday.
Ant Group plans to roll out a new design in which users make requests by text or voice and the AI handles ride hailing, coffee orders and food delivery, the report said. The AI assistant, called “Abao” in Chinese, also carries out asset-management tasks such as fund purchases with user approval. It is only being tested internally, and a launch schedule has not yet been finalised.
Tencent is also testing an AI agent prototype within WeChat. The moves by Alipay and WeChat, each with more than 1 billion users, are attracting attention as they could become a standard model for implementing AI assistants in mobile software.
Ant Group has been focusing on AI since its planned Shanghai and Hong Kong initial public offering was derailed by Chinese authorities in 2020 and its lending business faced tighter regulation. Last year, it also unveiled a humanoid robot capable of medical consultations and simple kitchen tasks.
Chi-gyu Hwang
delight@d-today.co.kr