ByteDance and Alibaba to Pull Agent Features as China Cracks Down on Humanlike AI
China is moving to shut down “emotional AI” features in consumer chatbots. ByteDance’s Doubao will disable its agent feature on July 15, and Alibaba’s Qwen is removing humanlike interactive and user-created agents on July 10, with broader agent services ending July 15. The changes follow new national rules taking effect July 15 that restrict AI services designed for sustained emotional interaction, including AI companions, therapists, girlfriends, and custom persona bots. The regulations focus on risks such as privacy leaks, harmful content, mental health effects, and addiction, especially for minors. Non-emotional uses like customer service, Q&A, workplace assistants, and educational tools remain allowed. China is the first country to create a dedicated framework targeting AI-driven emotional interaction, treating it as a governance issue rather than only a content-moderation problem.
