Tencent eyes its own ChatGPT-style service for super app WeChat as Chinese tech companies heat up the global AI arms race

Tencent plans to take its time in launching its own ChatGPT-style products to market
The firm expects generative AI technology to be a ‘growth multiplier’ that enhances its core video gaming and social media operations

Tencent

Iris Dengin ShenzhenandTracy Quin Shanghai

Published: 7:30pm, 23 Mar 2023

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Tencent Holdings is in no hurry to launch its own ChatGPT-style products that could include a chatbot embedded into its flagship super app WeChat, as the Chinese video gaming and social media giant outlined its plans in this field for the first time amid a global artificial intelligence (AI) arms race.

Shenzhen-based Tencent expected generative AI technology to be a “growth multiplier” that will enhance the company’s video gaming and social media operations, instead of a threat to these businesses, Tencent president Martin Lau Chi-ping told reporters and analysts on Wednesday after the firm released its fourth-quarter financial results.

“Our strategy is that we will try to do it right rather than do it in a rush,” said Lau, who indicated that a chatbot will be one of the generative AI-based applications that Tencent plans to launch. “We want to make sure that the foundation model [being developed by the company] is actually built correctly and on solid footing.”

“It’s natural for us to incorporate some of these technologies into our flagship products, such as Weixin and QQ … if there’s a good chatbot service that we develop,” Lau said, adding that generative AI technology can also help developers build mini programs faster.

Generative AI refers to algorithms that can be used to create new content, including text, audio, images, video and simulations.

“Our business is unlikely to be subverted by [generative AI] technology, but we can make good use of this technology to further improve the experience we provide to users,” Lau said. He indicated that it would be hard, for example, to create a new video game purely with AI-generated content, but the technology can help improve the efficiency to achieve gaming innovation.

Tencent laid out its strategy for generative AI after reporting a modest 1 per cent revenue growth of 145 billion yuan (US$20.8 billion) in the three months ended December, rebounding from a sales decline in the previous two quarters. Total 2022 revenue, however, was down 1 per cent to 554.6 billion yuan, marking the company’s first-ever annual revenue decrease.

Hong Kong-listed Tencent’s shares were up 8.18 per cent to HKS$375.60 at the close of trading on Thursday.

Tencent beats quarterly profit forecasts, helped by cost-saving efforts

Tencent’s generative AI plans reflect how major Chinese tech companies and their peers abroad are rushing to join this bandwagon, with an eye to improving customer stickiness in their existing platforms.

Baidu earlier this month released to select users the beta version of its Ernie Bot chatbot, its much-anticipated answer to US firm OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Despite recent mixed reviews, the Chinese internet search giant plans to integrate Ernie Bot across its existing businesses.

Google this week opened access to its ChatGPT competitor Bard in the US and UK. Microsoft Corp – a major investor in OpenAI, which powers the Bing search engine’s chatbot – has last week previewed a new AI “Copilot” for Microsoft 365, its product suite that includes Word document, Excel spreadsheet, PowerPoint presentation and Outlook email programs.

Here are the Big Tech firms racing to bring ChatGPT rivals to China

Tencent, meanwhile, started developing the foundation model for generative AI technology last year.

The company has set up a cross-departmental team, led by its top scientist Zhang Zhengyou, to work on HunyuanAide, a ChatGPT-style project based on the firm’s own AI foundation model, according to a report by 36Kr last month. Tencent started using the Hunyuan AI model in advertising, including making ad recommendations and creating tailor-made content for advertisers.

Lau said on Wednesday that Tencent possesses the data, AI tech expertise and cloud computing infrastructure, including the “required amount of chips”, to build the foundation model.

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