Tencent plans own virtual assistant for WeChat

News Wireless China 9 JAN 2019
Tencent plans own virtual assistant for WeChat

Tencent has unveiled its own virtual assistant, designed to bring the popular WeChat messaging platform to more devices. Called WeChat italking, or Xiaowei in Chinese, the system was unveiled at an annual developers and partners conference in Guangzhou, reports the South China Morning Post. 

The assistant will link WeChat users with Tencent’s stable of services including QQ Music, as well as its investments like Meituan Dianping, Didi Chuxing and Mobike. The company did not provide a timeline for launching the service. 

At the event, Tencent said it will also focus on building the ecosystem of mini-programs on WeChat, increasing opportunities for developers to earn money from their apps. Mini programs refer to applications smaller than 10 MB that can run instantly on WeChat’s interface. They offer quick access without the need to download an app and can work on any operating system. 

WeChat mini programs already cover more than 200 industries and have logged 100 billion transactions for government and business services, according to Tencent.  

Categories:

Mobile,  Internet

Companies:

Tencent

Countries:

China

Tags:

Messaging, Launch, IT - applications, Consumer devices

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