AI Agents: Beijing Sets the Rules, China’s Tech Giants Fall in Line

China forces ByteDance and Alibaba to disable certain personalized AI agent functions before new rules take effect on July 15, 2026. Beijing aims to regulate services capable of simulating a human personality, an intimate relationship, or prolonged emotional interaction.

AI: Beijing Closes the Door on Overly Human Agents

The new Chinese regulation targets AI services that imitate human traits. It concerns AI agents capable of adopting a stable personality, an emotional tone, or a role close to a virtual companion. Beijing no longer wants to let these products evolve without safeguards.

ByteDance announced the deactivation of personalized agents on Doubao starting July 15. Associated data may become unrecoverable after October 15, according to information provided to users.

Alibaba moves even faster. Qwen must remove certain humanlike interactive agents as of July 10, before a broader shutdown on July 15. The two giants prefer to comply quickly rather than risk a showdown with authorities. The signal is clear. In China, emotional AI is no longer just a product innovation. It becomes a matter of governance, mental health, and social protection.

ByteDance and Alibaba Adjust Their Products

Doubao and Qwen offered agents that users could customize. Some served as assistants, tutors, or role-playing characters. Others took the form of virtual companions with a consistent conversation style.

It is precisely this emotional continuity that worries Beijing. A chatbot that answers a question remains allowed. An agent designed to create a lasting relationship, mimic attachment, or replace a human bond enters a much more sensitive area.

Work tools, customer services, educational assistants, and Q&A software are not directly targeted. The boundary lies in the service’s intention. Productive AI remains acceptable. Relational AI becomes strictly monitored.

This distinction also protects large Chinese companies. Beijing does not block all innovation. It draws a line around uses deemed psychologically risky, especially when minors are involved.

Minors at the Center of the System

The new rules impose strong restrictions on services offering virtual parents, virtual companions, or intimate relationships to minors. The text also mentions risks of addiction, privacy breaches, and negative effects on mental health.

This approach responds to growing concern. AI agents can learn a user’s habits, adapt their tone, and encourage ongoing interaction. The more human the system seems, the higher the risk of attachment increases.

China wants to prevent these products from becoming uncontrolled emotional substitutes. It therefore requires platforms to rethink the very design of services, not just the generated content. This is where the decision becomes important. Beijing does not just ask for more transparency. The country directly limits certain interaction models. For Chinese AI giants, compliance means withdrawing entire functions.

This decision could slow some consumer uses, but it does not kill the market. Professional, educational, and productive AI agents will continue to exist. What disappears is the idea that an AI can be sold as a human bond without serious control.

Chinese giants comply because the issue goes beyond mere compliance. In China, AI must remain useful, regulated, and aligned with state priorities. The withdrawal of personalized agents shows that the next battle will not only be about model power. It will be about the place these models are allowed to take in daily life, at a time when several countries are already starting to consider the governance of agents.