Tencent, long known for its measured and cautious style, has begun making a series of assertive moves in artificial intelligence.

On March 6, it launched a promotional campaign offering free OpenClaw installation sessions assisted by its employees, drawing thousands of people to queue outside its office building. On March 9, it unveiled WorkBuddy, a general AI agent. A day later, on March 10, it began internal testing of QClaw, an AI assistant. These moves appear to be only the beginning.

36Kr has learned that Tencent’s WeChat is experimenting with developing its own independent AI model. The model has already completed foundational capability development and received an internal codename, with plans for a public rollout later this year.

In the near term, the model will be integrated into WeChat’s mini program ecosystem, allowing developers to build various AI agents. Over the longer term, WeChat aims to explore applications that embed AI more deeply into its social ecosystem. For example, by drawing on users’ long-term behavioral data within WeChat, the company is exploring how AI could improve efficiency and enhance the user experience inside the app.

When DeepSeek emerged a year ago, Tencent was among the fastest companies to respond. It integrated Yuanbao with DeepSeek, quickly driving a surge in daily active users. For some time afterward, however, Tencent remained relatively quiet in the AI agent race. It was not until Doubao’s daily active users surpassed 100 million later in the year that Yuanbao began responding more aggressively, backed by Tencent’s financial resources.

A report from QuestMobile shows that after the Lunar New Year campaign ended, Yuanbao’s daily active users largely fell back to pre-event levels, failing to sustain the momentum created during the promotion period.

Sources familiar with the matter described several themes discussed during a WeChat executive meeting in December 2025, when the company reviewed its AI strategy.

First, WeChat must possess built-in AI tools that do not rely on third-party systems.

Second, WeChat essentially consists of three components: person-to-person social interaction, information acquisition, and efficiency tools. Social relationships themselves cannot be replaced by AI, meaning AI’s role can only emerge in the information and productivity layers.

Earlier, during Tencent’s third-quarter 2025 earnings call, president Martin Lau outlined a broader vision. In his view, WeChat’s ultimate blueprint is to launch an AI agent of its own.

“WeChat’s ecosystem includes a communications and social network that allows agents to understand users’ needs, intentions, and interests,” Lau said. “It also has a content ecosystem, […] a mini program ecosystem that covers most use cases on the internet, a commercial ecosystem that allows people to purchase goods, and a payment ecosystem that enables transactions almost instantly. Taken together, this could become the user’s ideal assistant, one that understands needs and can complete tasks within the ecosystem.”

WeChat already holds a unique advantage over Qwen and Doubao. It is the only app with more than 1.4 billion monthly active users, offering a natural pathway to adoption and usage. More importantly, that position is supported by two scarce assets: vast social networks and a mini program ecosystem that spans e-commerce, transportation, local services, and government services.

If WeChat’s AI agent can connect both the social graph and the mini program service system, it could orchestrate these capabilities across its existing user base. For rivals still spending heavily to acquire users, this could pose a significant competitive challenge.

For the same reason, however, building an AI agent within WeChat may prove more complex.

The key capability of an AI agent is understanding user behavior and context. Yet the foundation of any social platform is trust. Users are willing to chat, discuss work, and exchange private information on WeChat because they assume their data is secure. Once AI becomes involved, users may grow uneasy about privacy.

According to an unnamed source cited by 36Kr, one of WeChat’s central considerations during development has been ensuring that users can approach AI as a tool without feeling overly monitored, since access to personal or corporate data, often sensitive, may be required to power these capabilities. As a result, each step of development is being approached cautiously.

Since the AI wave began, Tencent’s deepest internal concern has revolved around a single question: could a new breakout product emerge that might disrupt WeChat, much like how WeChat once replaced phone contact books and legacy messaging platforms?

For now, however, that moment of disruption has yet to arrive. Regardless of how technology evolves, fundamental human needs, including connection and belonging, are unlikely to disappear. In that sense, AI still cannot replace real human relationships. On that front, WeChat continues to hold an advantage that is difficult to displace.

WeChat’s decision to invest in its own model therefore serves both as defense and reinforcement. It also reflects Tencent’s longstanding product philosophy: the first product released is not necessarily the final centerpiece.

KrASIA features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This article was written by Xiao Sijia for 36Kr.