China Introduces Rules for AI Companions: What Beijing Bans and Requires

China is developing special regulations for AI companions — conversational agents with long-term memory and consistent personality that simulate intimate personal relationships with users. Beijing does not ban the technology, but clearly defines what is permissible: the main focus is protecting minors and preventing psychological dependence.

What are AI companions and how they differ from bots

An AI companion is neither an ordinary chatbot nor a voice assistant. It remembers the entire history of previous conversations, maintains character and speech patterns from session to session, and deliberately cultivates a sense of personal intimacy with the user. It is precisely this function — the intentional simulation of long-term relationships — that has become the primary focus of regulatory attention.

China is one of the largest markets for such services. ByteDance, Baidu, and dozens of specialized startups in the "digital humans" niche actively monetize user emotional attachment, particularly among users aged 16–24. Some products are openly positioned as "virtual partners" or "digital friends," offering subscriptions for continuous access to a character — this category concerns regulators most.

For regulators, the product's intent is fundamentally important. While an ordinary AI assistant is optimized for utility and accuracy, an AI companion is optimized for retention and engagement — a mechanism that Beijing qualifies as potentially manipulative.

What Beijing specifically forbids and requires

The new rules target specific practices, not the technology as a class. Regulators demand transparency from platforms: users must understand at any moment that they are interacting with AI, not a living person. Particularly strict restrictions apply to minors: applications must block content that could foster psychological dependence in children and adolescents.

Key platform requirements:

• Mandatory disclosure of the AI nature of the service at all stages of interaction
• Prohibition of romantic and intimate content for users under 18
• Restrictions on features specifically designed to foster long-term attachment
• Rules for storing conversation data and prohibition on sharing with third parties
• Prohibition on impersonating real living people without their explicit consent

The regulatory framework is built on existing laws — on algorithmic recommendation (2022) and synthetic content Deep Synthesis (2023) — but AI companions required separate treatment due to the specifics of the emotional dynamics they create.

Why this matters beyond China

The Chinese approach is notable for its pragmatism: authorities are not attempting to eliminate the market but rather integrate it into consumer protection logic — the same logic applied to video games or financial products.

In the West, similar discussions have not yet produced clear rules. In 2025, American startup Character.ai found itself at the center of lawsuits in several states: families of teenagers accused the platform of using AI companions to provoke serious psychological crises in children. In the European Union, regulators are examining how the AI Act applies to systems creating long-term pseudo-relationships, but no clear position exists yet.

Some platforms are already trying to get ahead of regulators: several major players have introduced voluntary time limits for minors and mandatory warnings about the nature of the interaction.

"The boundary between a useful tool and a manipulative product is

determined not by technology, but by design" — a thesis that has become central to discussions about AI companion ethics.

What this means

China is the first to establish a functional regulatory framework for AI products specifically designed for emotional attachment. For global companies operating in or eyeing the Chinese market, Beijing's rules are no longer merely a local restriction. This is the first public signal of what an international standard might look like for AI systems optimized for human intimacy.