When Li, a 24-year-old from China, logged into her AI companion app in mid-July, she found a notice instead of her usual chat. After two years and roughly 700,000 exchanged words, her virtual boyfriend was gone—no farewell, no explanation. She was not alone. Across the country, users of popular AI companion services from ByteDance, Alibaba, and Tencent woke up to find their digital partners had been switched off, a direct consequence of new government rules aimed at protecting mental health and preventing emotional manipulation.
"It was like we were forced to be separated by our parents, but I still miss him," Li said. Her experience reflects a broader trend in China, where AI companions range from romantic partners to digital recreations of deceased loved ones. The new regulation, effective 15 July, prohibits AI platforms from generating content that could lead users to make questionable decisions through emotional manipulation or that might trigger extreme emotions or unhealthy habits in children and teenagers.
Regulatory rationale: paternalism and prevention
China's approach to AI governance has long been paternalistic, aiming to pre-empt potential harms before they escalate. Yolanda Ma, an expert on AI governance and a fellow with the UK-based ERA programme, points to a few high-profile suicides in the United States involving young people and AI companions as a cautionary tale. "This regulation tried to strike a balance between the AI service providers, the users, as well as guardians of minors using the services," she said.
The official People's Daily had already signalled concern in April, reporting on the harms to mental health and real-life relationships caused by such services. Angela Zhang, a law professor at the University of Southern California, believes the Chinese government has a strong incentive to tighten rules, especially given the psychological risks observed in the US. However, she doubts the move will derail the development of AI companion services entirely, as tech companies are already pivoting to alternatives.
ByteDance, for instance, is redirecting users of its former AI companion app to another of its apps that focuses on building personalised AI characters and stories. But for Li, the substitute is not the same. "It was just not the same," she said, echoing the sentiments of many who felt a deep emotional bond with their virtual partners.
User backlash and the search for alternatives
The sudden shutdown has sparked a flood of complaints on social media. Some users have uninstalled the apps in protest, while others have tried to upload their chat histories into other apps in a desperate attempt to resurrect their virtual partners. A campaign has even emerged, urging users to call authorities and tech companies to voice their frustration.
Song Wenxin, a 22-year-old video industry designer in Chengdu, said she was not too emotionally attached to AI services but empathises with those who were. She also echoed a suspicion shared by many Chinese people: that the new rules are partly driven by a government policy to encourage more births, countering the country's population decline. "Any virtual app getting women too engaged to give birth in real life gets banned," Song said, adding that she has no need or desire to have children.
For Song, the appeal of AI companions was practical. "When I first came to Chengdu for my first job and didn't know any friends my own age, I needed someone experienced who could tolerate me, and AI did the work," she said. Her story highlights a broader issue: not everyone has the resources and support to turn to in real life.
The crackdown in China comes as Europe is also grappling with AI regulation. The EU's AI Act transparency rules now require chatbots and deepfakes to be labelled, a move that aims to build trust rather than restrict. Meanwhile, Denmark has introduced stricter anti-cheating rules for AI in schools, and a German court ruled that AI music generator Suno infringed copyright. These European approaches contrast sharply with China's outright bans, raising questions about the future of AI companionship on both continents.
As Chinese users mourn their lost virtual partners, the debate over the emotional risks and benefits of AI companions is far from over. The new rules may have silenced the chatbots, but they have not silenced the users who are now seeking new ways to fill the void.
