China tech giant Tencent bets on AI agents

BEIJING, Mar 18 (AFP): Tencent wants to bring artificial intelligence agents into its WeChat social media app, the Chinese tech firm's president said on Wednesday, a move that could change how hundreds of millions of users interact with the platform in the Asian nation and beyond.

Agents-programmes that execute real-life tasks such as sending emails or booking flights-are being touted as AI's next frontier after chatbots such as ChatGPT.

Their incorporation into WeChat may alter how people in the world's second-largest economy use the so-called "super-app" that already boasts social messaging, digital payments and a long list of other features.