WeChat's Reach Gives Tencent Power in China's AI Race

More than 1.4 billion monthly active users were on WeChat across its Chinese and international versions at the end of the first quarter of 2026, giving Tencent a vast platform as it tries to catch up in China’s AI race. The app handles messaging, shopping, payments, bill payments and government services. It’s not just a place to chat; it’s a company’s gateway into a large part of daily life.

For Shanghai resident Gu Jiu, that reach makes ordinary tasks easier. “Your WeChat account can be linked to almost any platform, so you don't need to keep track of lots of different accounts and passwords. You can just link them all through WeChat,” he told CNA. He checks messages and friends’ posts, pays for coffee with WeChat Pay and books tennis courts without switching apps. “For many of us, WeChat isn't just part of our personal lives. We use it for work too ... Without WeChat, things would be quite a bit more troublesome.”

A platform woven through daily life

Tencent, the Chinese internet company behind WeChat, launched the app in 2011. Its scale could help Tencent compete in AI, but it also makes the company’s choices consequential for users who rely on one account for personal, business and public services. Rui Ma, founder of Tech Buzz China, said Tencent must make new features work at that scale “without any negative experiences for the billion-plus users,” a task she called “exceedingly difficult” and “very expensive.”

Tencent has lost ground in short-form video, and its chatbot Yuanbao trails ByteDance’s Doubao. Analytics firm QuestMobile said Doubao had 382 million monthly active users in June, compared with about 50 million for Yuanbao. Rui Ma described China’s AI industry as “super competitive because it's highly fragmented,” with many companies competing.

Investors have questioned Tencent’s AI strategy, and those concerns have weighed on its Hong Kong-listed shares. The company has taken a more measured approach than rivals. Independent tech analyst Pei Pei described a shifting contest: from Tencent, Alibaba and Baidu, to Tencent versus ByteDance, and now traditional technology companies versus AI. AI could take over some roles that WeChat and Douyin play, while also enabling new industries to grow.

AI reaches into work and private data

Tencent began adding AI to WeChat through Xiaowei, an assistant launched in June. The feature arrives inside an app that handles payment details, identity information and private conversations, bringing privacy concerns with it. Rui Ma said generative AI can produce unpredictable results and that Tencent needs to protect users’ privacy while offering a personal productivity experience that saves time.

Tencent is also competing for workplace users. Its enterprise version of the WorkBuddy AI agent, which launched in June, has drawn interest from investors and industry observers. ByteDance has responded with Doubao Work, while Baidu has drawn attention with DuMate. Rui Ma said major Chinese technology companies’ established user bases and integrated workplace platforms could make the contest “a very important, potentially existential fight for these platforms.”

Play, pay, and the rules from above

Tencent’s gaming business shows another side of the company’s reach. Liang Ce, 20, said he had played Honor of Kings for about a decade. “I started playing when I was in Primary 4. This game has basically been with me for more than half my life,” he said. The game costs nothing to download and play, while Tencent earns revenue from optional character skins, battle passes and other virtual items. “With all the different purchases over the years, I've probably spent tens of thousands of yuan,” Liang said.

Honor of Kings had more than 260 million monthly players worldwide by 2025. Gaming accounts for about a third of Tencent’s revenue, which rose from about 57 billion yuan to nearly 242 billion yuan in the decade after the game’s launch. Beijing, meanwhile, limited online gaming for people under 18 to one hour on Fridays, weekends and public holidays in 2021. Tencent expanded its international gaming portfolio as it sought to offset tighter domestic restrictions; international gaming revenue exceeded US$10 billion for the first time in 2025.

Players also gather around the game without arranging formal matches. Liang recalled going to drink shops where “there would be a bunch of people gaming there. You didn't even have to look for people to play with. You could just join in.” Tencent’s AI teammate features in Peacekeeper Elite and Honor of Kings could offer another option for players who struggle to find people to play with, or who might otherwise use paid third-party gaming companions. The platform’s next move remains contested. As Chen Zemin put it: “WeChat already has a huge and highly engaged user base, and (AI assistant) Xiaowei can build on that.”