Tencent President Reveals WeChat to Feature AI Agents — Alibaba and Google Now in Direct Rivalry
Oh My! Are the Giants Already Going After Each Other?
Within just one day, a rapid chain of events unfolded:
- Alibaba — According to Bloomberg, in a bid to rival ChatGPT and Gemini, Alibaba is overhauling its Tongyi app and renaming it Qwen.
- Google — Announced a new AI shopping feature that lets users browse products, call stores, and complete one-click checkouts directly with AI assistance.
- Tencent — President Liu Chiping revealed during the Q3 earnings call that WeChat will eventually launch an AI agent.
What may look like separate business moves are, in fact, signs of one full-scale AI product war.
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Alibaba: The Qwen Transformation Project
Bloomberg reports Alibaba has secretly kicked off the “Qianwen” initiative with these steps:
- Rename: Tongyi → Qwen to align with their large model brand.
- Revamp: Overhaul the mobile app to resemble ChatGPT functionality.
- Integrate Agents: Gradually add AI agent capabilities for shopping across Taobao and other platforms.
Strategic Significance
This move aims to dominate consumer-facing AI services by combining Alibaba's e-commerce strengths with AI, potentially driving massive user growth.
Current Market Position
- Qwen ranks top globally among open-source models.
- 600M+ downloads worldwide.
- Tongyi holds 17.7% of domestic large model token consumption.
- However, DAUs lag behind rivals like Doubao and DeepSeek, highlighting growth potential.
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Google: AI Shopping End-to-End
According to The Verge, Google is embedding AI into every step of online shopping, just in time for the U.S. holiday season.
Features Include:
- Search and compare products.
- Track prices in real-time.
- Complete the checkout process (with user confirmation).
Google’s AI vision forms a closed shopping loop — going from vague intent (“I need a moisturizer”) to purchase — entirely guided by AI.
Bottom Line:
Google and Alibaba share the same direction—AI agents as the key to unlocking the consumer market.
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Tencent: AI Deep Integration into WeChat
Rather than launching a stand-alone shopping agent, Tencent’s strategy is to embed AI directly into WeChat — the daily driver of over 1 billion users.
Why This Matters
WeChat's ecosystem already supports:
- Social/data foundation — Understanding user needs via communications and social context.
- Content ecosystem — Official Accounts, Channels, and other sources for info supply.
- Service & payment loop — Mini Programs + WeChat Pay for complete transactions.
Steps Being Taken
- Introduce existing AI capabilities like Tencent Yuanbao into WeChat.
- Upgrade search with AI for better information retrieval.
- Pilot AI agents in vertical domains.
Ultimate Goal: A unified WeChat AI agent that autonomously completes complex tasks — fully contained within the platform’s ecosystem.
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The Bigger Picture: The AI Application War
Three tech giants, three approaches, one competitive arena:
| Company | Strategy | Core Target |
|---------|----------|-------------|
| Alibaba | E-commerce AI agent via Qwen | Consumer shopping market |
| Google | Full-loop AI-powered shopping | Product discovery to checkout |
| Tencent | Embedding AI in social super-app | Broad lifestyle & service coverage |
What’s Changing
- AI is the frontline product experience, not just a backend engine.
- The “entry point” advantage in individual services is being replaced by end-to-end ecosystem control.
- Giants are fighting for ownership of the entire user service chain.
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For Creators and Businesses
In this shifting battlefield, independent players need tools to bridge AI capability, distribution, and monetization.
Example: AiToEarn —
An open-source global AI content monetization platform that enables creators to:
- Generate AI content.
- Publish across multiple platforms (Douyin, Kwai, WeChat, Bilibili, Xiaohongshu, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, YouTube, Pinterest, X/Twitter).
- Track analytics and model rankings (AI模型排名).
By combining creation, multi-platform publishing, and monetization, tools like AiToEarn help creators compete alongside the giants.
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Bottom Line:
The AI era’s product war has begun, and the stakes go beyond market share—they define who controls the future digital life ecosystem. Whether you are a global tech giant or an independent creator, your position in this new AI landscape will shape your next decade.
