Ant Group Overhauls Alipay With AI Agent as WeChat Battle Heats Up

TLDR

• Ant Group is testing an AI agent called “Ah Bao” inside its Alipay super app
• Users will be able to book rides, order food, and manage investments via text or voice
• Tencent is also testing an AI agent inside WeChat, with both apps serving over 1 billion users each
• Ant posted a 79% profit drop in late 2025 due to rising AI spending
• Ant International is exploring raising around $1 billion to fund overseas expansion

Ant Group is testing a major redesign of its Alipay app, adding an AI assistant that lets users book services and manage money through simple voice or text commands. The move puts it in direct competition with Tencent’s WeChat, which is testing a similar feature.

What the New Alipay Can Do

The AI assistant, called “Ah Bao,” will let Alipay’s users book a car ride, order coffee, arrange food delivery, or buy mutual funds — all through a conversational interface. Users can type or speak their requests. The assistant can carry out financial tasks like purchasing mutual funds, but only with user authorization.

Alipay is currently in internal testing only, and no public release date has been confirmed. An Ant Group spokesperson declined to comment.

A Race Between China’s Biggest Apps

Both Alipay and WeChat have more than one billion users each. Tencent is also building an AI agent inside WeChat, meaning the two platforms are heading toward a direct contest over who executes this best.

ByteDance, which runs the Douyin short-video platform, is also pushing AI across its services. Alibaba, which owns one-third of Ant, is doing the same.

These companies are all trying to keep users inside their own ecosystems. But that strategy comes at a cost. Tencent, Alibaba, and ByteDance spent billions in cash promotions for their AI chatbots during the Lunar New Year holiday.

Ant posted a 79% drop in profit in the last three months of 2025 as it increased spending on AI projects, including healthcare and large language model development.

Ant’s AI Push Follows Regulatory Setbacks

Ant has leaned heavily into AI after Chinese regulators blocked its planned IPO in 2020, which had been valued at $280 billion. Authorities also capped its lending business. A share repurchase in 2023 valued the company at around $79 billion.

Since then, Ant has built out health and AI products. Its healthcare app, AQ, had 140 million users as of September last year. The company also unveiled a humanoid robot last year capable of medical consultations and basic kitchen tasks.

Ant International, its overseas arm, is now considering raising about $1 billion in fresh funding. That round could value Ant International at $10 billion or more, according to people familiar with the matter.

The broader AI agent trend is driving up operating costs across the sector, as these tools require more computing power than standard chatbots. How well Alipay and WeChat execute their AI rollouts could shape the next phase of China’s app economy.

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