Definition
Regulatory frameworks targeting AI services that simulate human personality traits, thinking patterns, and communication styles to provide sustained emotional interaction — companionship, emotional care, or role-play personas — as distinct from functional assistants.
China’s Interim Measures (July 2026)
Effective July 15, 2026. Issued April 10 by Cyberspace Administration of China with NDRC, MIIT, MPS, and SAMR (2026-07-06-china-anthropomorphic-ai-hoganlovells).
In scope: Custom personas, emotional companions, sustained role-play interaction
Exempt: Customer service, knowledge Q&A, workplace assistants, education — if no sustained emotional interaction
Compliance: Algorithm filing, minor protections, spending controls, safety assessments at user thresholds, app-store verification obligations.
Platform Response
- doubao (ByteDance): agent feature offline July 15; data unrecoverable after October 15
- qwen (alibaba): humanlike agents off July 10; full agent shutdown July 15
- Tencent Yuanbao removed similar features June 2026
First national framework specifically targeting companion AI; signals scenario-based regulation beyond technology-focused rules.
Effective-date impact (July 15–19, 2026)
ABC and policy trackers report platforms continuing shutdowns of personalized companion features; Article 14 absolute ban on virtual intimate relationships for minors clarified in legal analyses (china-ai-companions-crackdown, 2026-07-19-china-ai-companions-hoganlovells).
Info
Scope is anthropomorphic emotional services — not a total ban on all AI chat for adults. Workplace assistants / knowledge Q&A remain exempt when no sustained emotional interaction.
Related
- us-china-ai-competition
- regulatory-compliance
- ai-governance
- china-ai-agent-interoperability-standards
- bytedance
- alibaba
- qwen
- ai-companions
- cac
- youth-ai-safety
- china-ai-companion-regulation