recently, wechat’s official ai assistant “xiaowei” is accelerating its phased rollout, gradually granting access to more users. according to tencent customer service, the product remains in internal testing and currently supports both text and voice interactions. it can directly leverage multiple native wechat features—including system settings adjustments, sending and receiving messages, initiating voice/video calls, placing food delivery orders, and generating ai images. the test covers ios, android, and certain foldable devices; specific eligibility is subject to what appears on the user interface.
as for access, invited users can tap the green pupil-shaped icon in the upper-left corner of the wechat home screen to enter the “xiaowei” interface, where “beta version” is clearly labeled at the top. additionally, some users can reach it via a quick-access menu within chat windows. the overall design adopts a conversational interaction style. beyond basic q&a capabilities, “xiaowei” integrates functions such as document summarization, calendar reminders, and personalized music recommendations. notably, the “generate mini program with one sentence” feature stands out: users simply describe their needs in natural language—for example, “create a tool to track daily water intake”—and quickly receive a runnable mini program prototype. through multiple rounds of dialogue, they can further refine details like interface aesthetics and functional logic. it should be noted that, for now, the generated mini programs are limited to personal use and do not yet support sharing or publishing.
it’s worth mentioning that “xiaowei” is not a completely new name. back in 2015, tencent launched a voice assistant with the same name. this relaunch represents both a continuation of the brand and a sign that wechat’s ai strategy has entered a phase of deeper implementation. earlier, on june 8, the wechat open platform officially opened up ai ecosystem access to developers, enabling them to invoke ai models for mini program services, retrieve user-authorized data, and perform operations. meanwhile, wechat pay simultaneously introduced an “ai‑exclusive card,” specifically designed for ai‑driven transaction scenarios, creating a closed-loop workflow from intent recognition and product recommendations to one‑tap payments.
