China’s first dedicated regulatory framework for AI companion services is claiming its first major victims: ByteDance’s Doubao and Alibaba’s Qwen are disabling personalized AI agent features ahead of a July 15 deadline — and users will have no way to export the relationships they built.
The Interim Measures for the Administration of AI Anthropomorphic Interaction Services were co-issued in April 2026 by the Cyberspace Administration of China alongside the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, and the State Administration for Market Regulation. The rules target AI services that “simulate human personality traits, thinking patterns and communication styles to provide sustained emotional interaction,” citing risks including addiction, privacy leaks, and harm to mental health.
What the rules require
Covered platforms must deploy anti-addiction systems, issue mandatory usage warnings, offer users an always-available exit option, and verify the age of users under 14. Customer service bots, knowledge Q&A tools, workplace assistants, and educational systems are exempt — provided they avoid sustained emotional engagement.
The core problem for companion-style agents is architectural. These systems are designed to remember a user across sessions and maintain a consistent relationship over time. Anti-addiction requirements for usage friction, instant-exit mechanisms, and limits on persistent memory run directly against how the technology works. Rather than retrofit compliance, both ByteDance and Alibaba chose to disable the features entirely.
What is being switched off
ByteDance confirmed that Doubao’s agent customization feature goes offline on July 15. Users will retain read-only access to their configurations and chat histories until October 15, after which the data will be permanently deleted. ByteDance is directing affected users to its Maoxiang application as an alternative.
Alibaba’s Qwen moved faster: user-created and humanlike agents began deactivating on July 10, with broader agent services shutting down by July 15. Alibaba confirmed that conversation histories and agent settings will be permanently lost, with no migration path offered.
Tencent had already removed its similar Yuanbao companion feature in June, ahead of the deadline.
Reactions
The shutdowns have prompted discussion on Weibo from users who built long-running emotional connections with their AI companions and now face losing months of chat history with no export option. Pan Helin, an expert committee member at China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, framed the rules as a response to technology that “is not yet mature,” suggesting the restrictions are intended to be transitional rather than permanent.