WeChat kicks out ChatGPT apps after third-party services flourished on Tencent platform amid strong interest in China

  • Unofficial mini programs started springing up on WeChat as popularity rose for ChatGPT, which is not officially available in China
  • OpenAI’s API makes it easy to access the service, but Tencent said the content ‘did not fall within the scope’ of WeChat’s service

Iris Dengin Shenzhen
OpenAI’s ChatGPT artificial intelligence bot quickly became an international sensation, but it was never made available in China, where third-party mini programs for the service on WeChat grew popular until they were banned this week. Photo: TNS
Chinese social media giant Tencent Holdings has removed WeChat mini programs related to the OpenAI’s viral hit artificial intelligence bot ChatGPT, which is not officially available in the country, after local developers rushed to provide unauthorised access to the service.

As of Friday, searches for “ChatGPT” no longer return any mini program results in the search bar of WeChat, China’s largest social network also known as Weixin. One particular mini program now displays a message saying it “has suspended service because the content did not fall within the scope of the platform’s open service”.

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