Alibaba’s Qianwen, ByteDance’s Doubao shut down as China AI rules take effect

Alibaba Group's Qianwen and ByteDance's Doubao — two of China's largest AI chatbot services with 166 million and 345 million monthly active users respectively — are shutting down their anthropomorphic chat functions on July 15, 2026. The termination aligns with the effective date of China's 'Interim Rules on the Management of AI Anthropomorphic Interactive Services,' issued by five government agencies including the Cyberspace Administration of China. The rules mandate security assessments and reporting for any service exceeding 100,000 MAU or 1 million registered users, thresholds far surpassed by both platforms. ByteDance is directing users to a separate app, Maobox, for continued interactive services.

The regulatory crackdown extends beyond chatbots. In April 2026, Chinese authorities launched the four-month 'Qinglang: Rectifying AI Application Disorder' campaign targeting illegal features like pornographic chats, 'one-click undressing,' and AI fortune-telling. The first phase penalized over 14,000 AI products, removed more than 6 million pieces of illegal information, and sanctioned over 26,000 accounts. Industry observers now expect video-generation AI to be the next regulatory target, with Kuaishou's Kling AI — valued at $18 billion — seen as vulnerable given its core business slowdown and Tencent's recent share sale. The preemptive shutdown of Qianwen and Doubao signals that even massive, mainstream AI services must comply with China's tightening security and content management regime.