Reports surfaced on the afternoon of September 7th indicating that WeChat is currently conducting internal tests of a new "Xiaowei AI Social" capability. According to the information, a user's Xiaowei assistant can directly initiate a conversation with a friend's Xiaowei by first conveying the user's request to their own Xiaowei, which then communicates with the counterpart's assistant. Once the other party confirms the interaction, the two AI assistants proceed with a preliminary exchange before reporting the outcome back to the primary user, with an alert prompting for the user's final approval at any step requiring a decision.
In response to inquiries regarding this development, Tencent has not provided an official statement as of the time of this report. A Tencent customer service representative elaborated on the existing "WeChat Xiaowei" intelligent assistant, describing it as a native AI helper currently being trialed on a small scale by the WeChat team. Access to this feature is achieved by clicking the "Xiaowei" icon located in the upper left corner of the WeChat main interface.
The same customer service representative further outlined the current capabilities of the "Xiaowei" assistant, noting that users can leverage it to control native WeChat functions such as adjusting settings, sending messages, initiating audio or video calls, and searching Moments. Additionally, the assistant can invoke mini-programs to complete everyday tasks like hospital registrations or coffee purchases, as well as search for videos and articles, generate images, and create notes. Within the chat input area, a "Ask Xiaowei" option is also available to summarize ongoing conversations and provide suggested replies.