On Saturday, ByteDance’s Doubao and Alibaba’s Qwen both announced that their AI agent creation features will be discontinued on July 15, 2026. After the shutdown, users will no longer be able to create new AI agents, while all existing user-created agents will also stop functioning. The platforms said users will still be able to view agent configurations and chat histories during a transition period. They recommend backing up important content in advance by taking screenshots or exporting text. After October 15, 2026, related data will be processed in accordance with the platforms’ privacy policies and will no longer be recoverable.
The timing of the move closely coincides with the implementation of China’s Interim Measures for the Administration of Anthropomorphic AI Interaction Services, which take effect on July 15. The simultaneous shutdowns signal that China’s consumer-facing, user-generated AI agent ecosystem is entering a new phase of stricter regulatory compliance. [TechNode reporting]