Super apps are undergoing AI transformations, and Alipay has offered a glimpse into its own ambitious plans.
Ant Group is currently testing an AI-powered version of Alipay. This represents the most comprehensive overhaul of the payment platform in nearly twenty years. The new version is not about adding an AI assistant to the existing app; it will allow users to switch with one click into a completely new, conversation-driven Alipay experience.
The internal codename for this project is "Project Bao," and the product is expected to launch imminently, with subsequent iterations planned twice a month. According to insiders, the transition will be implemented with flexibility. After the new version goes live, the original Alipay will remain the default interface, but users can choose to set the AI version as their primary interface.
Since 2025, Chinese internet giants have been pursuing two distinct paths to embrace the AI era: launching standalone native AI applications or retrofitting their existing apps with AI capabilities.
Prior to this, public discussion for months centered on the potential AI transformation of WeChat. Following signals in Tencent's Q3 2025 earnings report, there were repeated rumors about a WeChat AI assistant, which the company officially denied on two occasions.
Alipay and WeChat are likely launching their respective AI versions around a similar timeframe. Based on public information, WeChat's approach appears closer to embedding an assistant within the existing app, while Alipay's strategy is considered more radical.
Both platforms command over a billion users and host millions of mini-programs. Any fundamental overhaul affects a vast user base and complex commercial interests. In January of this year, Ant Group CEO Han Xinyi stated in an interview, "We are still exploring the AI transformation of Alipay; it's not an easy task."
While many were waiting for WeChat to make the first move, Alipay has taken the lead in launching its product.
A Project of the Highest Secrecy
"Project Bao" is designed to explore the intelligent transformation of Alipay. It is led by Li Jun, President of the Alipay Business Unit, and is classified as Ant Group's highest-level confidential project. Internally, A Fu and the AI-powered Alipay are collectively referred to as "the twin wings of Ant AI."
The "Project Bao" project underwent rapid organizational adjustments and structural concealment. The secrecy was so high that at one point, unrelated employees could not even access the relevant areas using their access cards. Rumors within Ant and its supply chain also suggested it would deliver an operational experience similar to the "Doubao Phone."
Preparations for this AI overhaul have been underway at Alipay for over two years. It is understood that as early as the second half of 2023, the Alipay business unit management initiated internal discussions on "how to move towards intelligence," subsequently forming a dedicated project team. The first major question was whether to retrofit the original Alipay client or build an entirely new one from scratch. Considering the complex, intertwined architecture and business logic of the original client, the project team initially opted to first develop an independent native AI client.
Following this path, Alipay made several attempts. At the Shanghai Bund Summit in September 2024, Alipay launched the AI life assistant "Zhi Xiaobao," but its performance fell short of expectations. In contrast, the smart assistant that remained within the Alipay app, leveraging homepage traffic, maintained a stable daily active user base in the millions, accumulating substantial data. Subsequently, the team shifted its focus back to the core Alipay client.
An insider revealed that this strategic pivot occurred around March 2025. At the time, Ant was concentrating resources on the health application "Ant A Fu" and advancing its general-purpose AI "Ling Guang," leaving limited computing power and development resources. Building another standalone app would not only compete for resources with these projects but also bear the immense cost of migrating users from scratch. After weighing the options, the team abandoned the standalone client approach.
Simultaneously, an internal consensus grew clearer: effectively serving Alipay's existing 10 billion users, allowing them to access AI services with zero migration cost, is more effective than building a new application from the ground up outside the platform.
In December 2025, the AI-powered Alipay project was formally established. It is understood that the initial core team came from the Alipay client's smart assistant unit, later joined by teams from algorithms, consumer product, and mini-program business.
The final product direction is neither a standalone native app nor a simple embedded assistant within the existing app. Instead, it allows users to switch with one click into a completely new AI-powered Alipay interface. The goal is to gradually complete what Alipay internally calls a "cage replacement" as user habits migrate.
How Will AI Orchestrate Millions of Mini-Programs?
Integrating AI into an application with hundreds of millions of users and over a decade of ingrained behavioral patterns is a challenge currently facing all major Chinese internet companies. Each wants to be revolutionary yet fears alienating users; each wants AI to be omnipotent but struggles to overhaul a deeply entrenched product system overnight.
In terms of interaction, "Project Bao" aims to change the fundamental user action in Alipay: shifting from the past model of "service as an app," where users open individual mini-programs to get things done, towards "service as a conversation," using natural language or voice to fulfill needs. To define this new interaction paradigm, the project team produced over 100 different product design iterations. Based on the judgment that natural language will be the mainstream for AI interaction, the team ultimately selected a conversation-centric solution.
Like WeChat, Alipay is built upon an ecosystem of millions of mini-programs, covering nearly all services from daily life, government affairs, to healthcare and education. It is understood that the main challenge in enabling AI to complete tasks for users is not just understanding user intent, but making AI comprehend the millions of services available on the platform itself. Around this point, the project adjusted its technical roadmap to prioritize solving AI's understanding of service data.
"At this stage of AI, simple conversation is no longer the key," said a source close to the project. "Long-horizon task completion and service closure are the focal points of competition and value."
Regarding the specific integration method, Alipay is adopting a "dual-track" approach. On one track, it encourages willing merchants to proactively integrate, turning their services into MCPs/Skills that AI can directly invoke. On the other, with user authorization, AI will operate by "reading the screen" to interact with mini-programs that have not yet been adapted. It is understood that by December 2025, the relevant technical path was validated, and the product entered the front-end interface design phase.
A New Gateway Pointing to the Agent Era
This is not the first time Alipay has stood at such a crossroads.
In July 2011, Alipay introduced barcode payment at an industry conference in Guangzhou. Prior to that, there was an internal debate over whether mobile payments should use NFC or QR codes, with the latter being chosen. For over a decade since, that code has transformed payment methods for most Chinese people and laid the foundation for the prosperity of the mobile internet industry.
Fifteen years later, the trend has shifted from mobile internet to the transition towards the Agent intelligence era. However, Alipay is not the only contender vying for a new gateway in the Agent era.
Tencent President Martin Lau hinted at WeChat's future AI blueprint during the Q3 2025 earnings call: WeChat will ultimately launch a unique AI agent. This agent will be deeply connected with WeChat's social graph, communication capabilities, and content ecosystem.
Alipay and WeChat have different foundational strengths: social networking is WeChat's hallmark, belonging to the private sphere, while services are Alipay's long-standing forte. This ensures that even as both move towards AI, their evolved forms will differ.
Public information indicates that Ant's AI strategy focuses on three application areas: lifestyle services, finance, and health, aligning with CEO Han Xinyi's statement about "using AI to redo these three service industries." Before Alipay's transformation, Ant's health-focused AI application "A Fu" reached over 15 million monthly active users within six months of launch. This AI overhaul of Alipay represents the implementation of this strategy on Ant's largest user base.
On May 27, 2026, Alipay released its full-stack AI payment infrastructure product series, disclosing that AI-powered payment transactions had exceeded 300 million. Han Xinyi proposed a vision at the event: "I believe in the future, countless Agents will be active in economic activities. The interaction will shift from human-to-human to human-to-Agent and Agent-to-Agent."
Internal sources reveal that Alipay management envisions the AI-powered version as a super gateway for Agent services, a direction also targeted by WeChat's AI assistant.
The same source indicated that following the launch of the AI-powered Alipay, an AI open platform for merchants and developers will be released soon, enabling cross-device connectivity with various terminals like phones, car systems, and smart glasses.
On the eve of the Spring Festival Gala 12 years ago, WeChat launched its "Lucky Money" feature. Within days, 8 million users participated, sending and receiving 40 million digital red packets, achieving mass authorization of user payment accounts—an event Jack Ma famously called a "Pearl Harbor attack."
Twelve years later, standing at another pivotal moment of technological transition, after months of ambiguous news about WeChat AI, Alipay has stepped into the spotlight first.
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