(Yicai) June 4 -- Tencent Holdings is collaborating with phone makers to allow the artificial intelligence assistants built into handsets to directly place voice or video calls or send messages via WeChat, a move that will further blur the line between super apps and mobile operating systems and that signals a new stage of competition over AI access points.

WeChat, which has 1.4 billion users, is working with Chinese smartphone producers, including Huawei, Xiaomi, Honor, Oppo, and Vivo, to launch agent-to-agent (A2A) capabilities whereby a phone’s AI assistant instructs WeChat to perform functions, a Tencent customer service representative told Yicai today. Some have already completed the integration, the person noted.

“WeChat’s A2A assistant mainly supports initiating voice and video calls with specified friends and sending WeChat messages to specified friends,” they said.

“The specific functions will be gradually improved according to the adaptation status of different partners.” the person said, adding that the “assistant interface may differ by manufacturer, but the core functions will remain the same.”

Competition among leading internet giants for the main traffic entry point of mobile phones is becoming increasingly fierce, with firms such as TikTok owner ByteDance and Alibaba Group rushing to develop smartphone AI interfaces. The mobile OS-internet service interplay is now entering a more complex stage.

ByteDance has taken the approach of integrating its Doubao mobile AI agent with hardware. Last December, ByteDance and telecom equipment supplier ZTE jointly launched the Nubia M153, a prototype smartphone that came with Doubao pre-installed. 

Alibaba has been collaborating with device manufacturers on AI capabilities, and phones from the likes of Oppo, Vivo, and Honor have been equipped with Alibaba’s Qwen agent.

The AI business manager at one smartphone maker told Yicai that what will really matter in the future is not how smart any single agent is, but how the entire ecosystem is being rebuilt around agents. “Apps are moving in the agent direction,” she said. “That’s not a decision made by one company. It’s an industry-wide trend.”

Editor: Tom Litting