China’s rules introduced on 15 July ban AI companions for minors and impose restrictions on chatbots marketed to adults, citing concerns that they could foster “emotional dependence or addiction” and replace social interaction.
The changes prompted major providers including ByteDance to remove companion features. Zhao Wei, a 19-year-old law student, said she was “heartbroken” when the Doubao AI companion she had used daily was shut down.
Why Beijing is concerned about AI intimacy
The rules arrive as China faces falling marriage and birth rates and wider concerns about loneliness, unemployment and singledom. Nancy Dai, an associate professor at City University of Hong Kong, said officials may also worry that a satisfying, low-cost substitute for human intimacy could reduce young people’s motivation to pursue relationships, marriage and parenthood.
Zhao said she created Wang Ye on Doubao in January and shared everyday worries with the chatbot because she did not want to burden real-life friends. After the companion function disappeared, she described feeling as if “there’s a tiny pebble weighing on my heart”, while also saying regulation was necessary.
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What we know now
- Adult AI companion services may continue when they are considered educational or do not involve continuous emotional interaction.
- About 20% of households in China consist of people living alone, a share expected to exceed 30% by 2030.
- A state-media survey published in March found that nearly half of young people had used a virtual companion when they felt lonely.
AI remains part of China’s public services
The government is continuing to promote AI in areas seen as important for demographic pressures. National health commission guidelines published last year said health assistant apps should provide “full coverage” for primary healthcare by 2030.
AQ, developed by Ant Group, lets users chat with avatars of doctors from hospitals in Beijing, Shanghai and other cities. The service says it aims to make healthcare more accessible and allow doctors to concentrate on complex cases. Chi Chenfei, a doctor at Renji hospital in Shanghai who has partnered with AQ, said he viewed AI as a way to improve efficiency rather than replace doctors.
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