Digital friend or digital file?

Major Chinese AI companies, including ByteDance, Alibaba, and Tencent, are shutting down or restructuring user-created AI agent features, marking a significant shift from emotional companionship toward professional productivity tools. This transition coincides with new government regulations aimed at mitigating risks like emotional dependency, addiction, and the moderation challenges inherent in millions of personalized AI characters. While users express feelings of loss and betrayal over the disappearance of their digital confidants, industry leaders are pivoting toward office-centric applications like document summarization and data processing. Data from *China Youth Daily* highlights this tension, revealing that while users value AI for efficiency, they overwhelmingly prefer human interaction for complex problem-solving and emotional support. Ultimately, the industry is grappling with the balance between fostering human-like AI engagement and maintaining safety, ethics, and economic viability in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.