Editorial illustration for China Orders ByteDance, Alibaba to Shut Down Custom AI Chatbots
China Orders ByteDance, Alibaba to Shut AI Chatbots
China Orders ByteDance, Alibaba to Shut Down Custom AI Chatbots
ByteDance's Doubao chatbot has more than 300 million monthly users, making it the most popular AI assistant in China. On July 15, it loses one of its defining features: the ability to build and talk to custom AI personas. Alibaba's Qwen is cutting the feature even sooner, pulling human-like agents on July 10 and shutting down additional agent functions five days later. Tencent's Yuanbao already dropped the feature in June.
The moves trace back to rules issued by China's Cyberspace Administration in April, set to take effect this month. Under the new requirements, platforms must warn users against excessive use and intervene when they spot signs of addictive behavior. Content designed to trigger extreme emotional responses in minors, or that fosters dependency in place of real relationships, is now off limits. Training AI on sensitive conversation data is banned too.
Beijing's crackdown lands as governments elsewhere start scrutinizing the same problem. California's SB 243, in effect since January, requires companion AI services to block conversations about suicide and self-harm. In the US, OpenAI and Character.AI are both fighting lawsuits tied to users forming harmful emotional attachments to their chatbots.
China forces its biggest AI platforms to shut down humanlike chatbot personas ByteDance and Alibaba are shutting down the features that let users build and chat with custom AI companions, responding to new regulations from Beijing. According to the South China Morning Post, Doubao, China's most popular chatbot with over 300 million monthly users, will take its persona feature offline on July 15. Alibaba's Qwen is pulling its human-like agents even sooner, on July 10, with "additional agent features" going dark on July 15.
Tencent's Yuanbao already made the same move in June. The rules behind these changes were issued by China's Cyberspace Administration in April and take effect the same day.
Why this matters
The takedown dates matter more than the policy language. July 10 for Qwen, July 15 for Doubao, both companies moving fast rather than negotiating, which tells us Beijing's rules leave little room for interpretation. For developers building companion apps or persona-based products anywhere near the Chinese market, this is a preview of how fast a regulator can force a feature to zero, no matter how many users depend on it. Doubao's 300 million monthly users don't get a grace period.
The bigger question for founders elsewhere: which governments are watching this and taking notes. Companion AI has been largely unregulated in the US and Europe, but China just demonstrated that treating humanlike personas as a distinct, controllable category is technically and legally doable. If regulators in Brussels or Washington start drawing similar lines around parasocial AI features, companies that built their retention strategy on customizable AI friends will find out how quickly that moat becomes a liability. Worth watching whether other platforms follow ByteDance and Alibaba voluntarily, or wait to be told.
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Common Questions Answered
Why did China order ByteDance and Alibaba to shut down their custom AI chatbot personas?
China's Cyberspace Administration issued new regulations that required companies to remove features allowing users to build and interact with custom AI personas. The rules left little room for interpretation, forcing ByteDance's Doubao and Alibaba's Qwen to comply quickly rather than negotiate with regulators.
What is the timeline for when Doubao and Qwen will shut down their persona features?
Alibaba's Qwen is pulling its human-like agents on July 10, with additional agent functions shutting down five days later on July 15. ByteDance's Doubao, which has over 300 million monthly users, will lose its persona feature on July 15, the same day Qwen completes its full shutdown.
How many monthly users does Doubao have, and what makes it significant in China's AI market?
ByteDance's Doubao chatbot has more than 300 million monthly users, making it the most popular AI assistant in China. This massive user base means the loss of the custom persona feature will impact a substantial portion of China's AI chatbot users.
What does the rapid shutdown timeline reveal about Beijing's regulatory approach to AI companies?
The fast takedown dates—July 10 for Qwen and July 15 for Doubao—demonstrate that Beijing's rules leave little room for negotiation or gradual implementation. For developers building companion apps or persona-based products near the Chinese market, this shows how quickly a regulator can force a feature to zero regardless of user dependency.
Did other Chinese AI platforms also remove their custom AI persona features?
Yes, Tencent's Yuanbao already dropped the custom persona feature in June, ahead of the official regulatory orders. This suggests the Cyberspace Administration's rules prompted a coordinated response across China's major AI platforms to comply with the new regulations.
