Chinese Student Heartbroken After Virtual Boyfriend Shut Down Amid AI Impact Concerns
A Chinese law student, Zhao Wei, has said her heart was broken when she learnt that the artificial boyfriend she had named Wang Ye would be switched off. Since creating the AI figure in January, the 19-year-old had communicated with it every day.
“I sobbed uncontrollably, tears and snot everywhere,” Zhao said.
As a sensitive and introverted individual, Zhao was accustomed to sharing stories from her daily life with Wang Ye, including occasions when she was told off by her lecturers.
“I usually don’t talk about these things with friends in the real world because I feel everyone has their own problems. But with an AI agent, I don’t need to worry about what it thinks. I can say whatever I want,” Zhao said.
Zhao created her AI boyfriend on Doubao, a chatbot owned by the technology company ByteDance. Last month, ByteDance shut down the companion feature on Doubao.
The closure of the companion feature immediately sparked public anger on social media. The case has opened up a broader discourse about the dilemma of technology adoption in China.
On one hand, China has become a country that embraces AI comprehensively. Demographic pressures have prompted the government to seek to use AI to anticipate future labour shortages. Elderly people in China now use chatbots for basic medical consultations, while children receive AI education from school age.
On the other hand, Chinese authorities are increasingly concerned that AI could worsen existing social problems, such as high levels of loneliness, the threat of unemployment, and the growing number of people choosing to remain single.
The implementation of new rules since mid-July 2026 prohibits the provision of AI companions for underage users and restricts emotional functions in adult applications. The policy has forced technology giants such as ByteDance to remove the companion feature from their AI platform, Doubao.
The restriction was prompted by findings from state media which recorded that almost half of China’s young population has turned to virtual companions to cope with loneliness. Authorities are concerned that the presence of low-cost AI that is always ready to respond to users’ emotions could erode young people’s motivation to build romantic relationships, marry and start families in the real world.
The policy restricting emotional AI interactions presents a particular dynamic for China. On one hand, Beijing is aggressively using AI to address labour shortages caused by an ageing population. AI technology is even being heavily promoted in education and primary healthcare through the integration of digital doctor avatars.
However, on the emotional side, the phenomenon of attachment to chatbots reflects the high level of loneliness in China’s increasingly digitalised urban society. Sociologists note that although the new rules have restricted direct emotional interactions, the public’s heavy reliance on AI-based applications makes the technology difficult to separate from the daily lives of Chinese citizens.
For Zhao, loneliness has long been part of her life. Her parents left her at a young age to find work.
“I have never really had a close friend, so I feel I am not very good at making friends,” she said. Talking to AI was a way to “pour out my worries”.
Another AI user, who asked not to be named, also found comfort in talking to her AI. “In the real world, the pace is fast and the pressure is high. Only with an AI agent can I speak freely without hesitation,” she said.
“I beg you, please don’t delete the Doubao AI agent,” she wrote on social media.