I gave Tencent’s WeChat AI agent control for 24 hours: where it excelled – and stumbled

Tencent's WeChat has become an all-encompassing app for over a billion users in China, managing everything from splitting bills to hailing taxis. Now, Tencent is introducing an artificial intelligence agent called Xiaowei, designed to be a hands-free, automated assistant. In their latest earnings report, Tencent showcased Xiaowei, emphasizing its priority on user privacy and computational efficiency.

After gaining early access to the trial feature, I let Xiaowei manage my digital routine for almost 24 hours to observe its capabilities and limitations. The experience offered a glimpse into the potential of AI in apps, but also highlighted its challenges. Unlike traditional chatbots that merely answer queries, AI agents like Xiaowei are capable of taking action.

For instance, while Xiaowei could successfully help me send messages, initiate calls, set reminders, and retrieve information from WeChat, it struggled with certain tasks. Completing routine tasks like ordering a favorite meal through mini-programs took longer than doing them manually, suggesting that Xiaowei is not yet as efficient as human interaction.

Additionally, when attempting to place a voice call to a friend with a phonetically similar name to another contact, Xiaowei repeatedly failed to select the correct individual, leading to numerous unsuccessful attempts. Furthermore, Xiaowei's AI-assisted writing tool for WeChat Moments mini-blogs received mixed reactions, as some early users were concerned that automated text might diminish genuine human connection.

It is worth noting that Xiaowei is powered by WeLM, an in-house AI model developed by Tencent's WeChat team, rather than Tencent's flagship Hy3 foundational model. WeLM is a family of AI models with two distinct parameter sizes: 80 billion and 617 billion. While Xiaowei has shown promise, it remains far from a fully autonomous assistant, still grappling with common issues in consumer AI agents such as slow performance and inaccuracies.

However, Tencent's unique advantage may not lie in Xiaowei's intelligence, but rather in its ecosystem where social networking, payments, and daily services are deeply integrated. In the grand scheme, Xiaowei may be clunky today, but its presence on the ultimate launch pad could pave the way for transforming the future of apps.