Why did Xiaohongshu fire the first shot by taking the lead in targeting AI-managed accounts?

The real experiences and emotions that support the community atmosphere on Xiaohongshu can only come from people.

When OpenClaw became extremely popular and the safety of "raising lobsters" was still in question, AI-managed accounts formed with the help of AI tools like OpenClaw had quietly flowed into mainstream content communities.

Against this backdrop, Xiaohongshu fired the first shot at AI-managed accounts. This is also the first time a mainstream platform has clearly regulated the abuse of AI agent tools in content communities.

As a UGC community that started with real people's sharing, sincerity and authenticity have always been the essence of Xiaohongshu. When AI agents try to invade the authenticity of the community, they have crossed the platform's insurmountable bottom line.

Xiaohongshu's action this time is not only a protection of its own ecosystem but also a timely correction of industry chaos.

 Taking Action

An open-source AI agent, OpenClaw, has recently caused a global sensation. Because its icon resembles a crayfish, the term "raising lobsters" has quickly become a hot topic in the tech circle.

Different from traditional AI assistants that can only have conversations, the core advantage of the "lobster" lies in its ability to "do things". Just like a personal super assistant, OpenClaw can not only interact with users and complete tasks according to instructions but also "take over" the user's computer, automatically call different data to complete complex tasks, and be online 24 hours a day.

To some extent, the "lobster" has achieved a technological leap from AI conversation to execution. In other words, it has lowered the understanding threshold for people to use agents. People only need natural language instructions to directly control the computer to complete relevant operations. Soon, the "lobster fever" quickly spread beyond the tech circle. How to install and raise lobsters once became the most concerned topic on social media.

However, just a few days later, voices about the potential risks of the "lobster" such as information leakage began to emerge. On March 10th, the National Internet Emergency Center issued a risk warning about the safe application of OpenClaw, stating that since the default security configuration of OpenClaw is extremely weak, once an attacker finds a breakthrough, they can easily gain full control of the system.

This also means that for ordinary users without professional skills, once the vulnerabilities of OpenClaw are maliciously exploited by cyber attackers, it's like giving the key to their home to a stranger.

While the safety of the "lobster" was being hotly debated, AI-managed accounts formed with the help of AI tools like OpenClaw had quietly penetrated into major mainstream content communities, including Xiaohongshu.

What are AI-managed accounts? Simply put, users operate accounts in the AI-managed mode, automatically generate content, publish notes through technical means, and simulate real human interactions in scenarios such as comments, private messages, and group chats. For example, the Xiaohongshu account "Cyber Crab" was entirely operated by AI from its persona creation to daily operations. Although it simulated real human expressions, the information was highly homogeneous and its authenticity could not be verified. This account has now been banned.

Currently, Xiaohongshu has officially taken action against these batch-operated AI-managed accounts.

On March 10th, 2026, Xiaohongshu issued a governance announcement on cracking down on AI-managed accounts, strictly prohibiting any behavior of using technical means to simulate real people, generate non-real content, or conduct false interactions. It also opened a reporting channel, allowing users to report suspected AI-managed accounts through the reporting function on the note or account page.

The announcement also mentioned the specific governance measures for AI-managed accounts:

1. For ordinary accounts that occasionally use AI to write or post notes on their behalf or conduct false interactions, the platform will take gradient measures such as warnings and restricting content distribution according to the degree of violation.

2. Accounts that are registered, posted, and interacted with directly through AI-managed tools, or accounts whose all public notes on the homepage are posted by AI on their behalf, will be banned by the platform.

As for how to determine whether an account is an AI-managed account, a person close to Xiaohongshu told 36Kr that the platform will comprehensively determine whether an account is automatically operated by AI based on the account's posting behavior. At the same time, an appeal entry is reserved.

Xiaohongshu's action this time is not only the first shot fired by a mainstream content platform at AI-managed accounts. It also marks the first time a mainstream platform has clearly regulated the abuse of AI agent tools in content communities.

 Authenticity Is the Bottom Line

Why did Xiaohongshu choose to fire the first shot?

The reason is not complicated. The existence of AI-managed accounts goes against the authenticity that Xiaohongshu has always advocated. As a UGC community that started with real people's sharing, "sincerity and authenticity" are the foundation of Xiaohongshu. The UGC content from real people's experiences is also Xiaohongshu's most core asset.

The community atmosphere full of a sense of real people once allowed Xiaohongshu to break through in the Internet competition and achieve what it is today. Behind the "human touch" is the real sharing and expression of users. Xiaohongshu officially disclosed that from January to November 2025, Xiaohongshu generated more than 70 million comments every day, and about 200 million users sought purchase advice on Xiaohongshu every month.

However, the logic of AI-managed accounts is to scale up and make money. Once the content template is established, it will be replicated in batches, and finally, it will make money by taking advertisements or diverting traffic to product links. It has nothing to do with real human creation, and its authenticity is questionable, let alone producing high-quality content.

Once these accounts enter the platform in batches, they will inevitably erode Xiaohongshu's core assets. The low-quality and homogeneous content generated by AI occupies the distribution space of real UGC and dilutes the weight of high-quality content. More importantly, when the subtle smell of AI gradually seeps into the community, in the long run, users will have difficulty distinguishing whether there is a real person or an algorithm behind the screen, which will ultimately affect users' trust in the platform and shake the foundation of the community.

Just as the community is the soil for all the values of Xiaohongshu, UGC content is still the basis for Xiaohongshu's commercialization. This is also the reason why the "grass planting" culture was born and verified on Xiaohongshu. Today, users on Xiaohongshu trust the content more and are more likely to make consumption decisions. The essence is that users are more willing to trust the recommendations of ordinary people rather than those omnipresent advertisements.

With the growth of the grass planting culture, Xiaohongshu has become the last stop for people's consumption decisions. However, AI-managed accounts have given rise to a series of gray industries. Once these accounts disguise themselves as amateur notes to divert traffic and make money, the indistinguishable content not only damages users' trust but also seriously disrupts the normal operations of brands and merchants on Xiaohongshu.

Since the first half of last year, Xiaohongshu has specially established a "team to crack down on false marketing" internally to deal with false marketing content on the platform, and has banned more than 12 million false accounts. At that time, these accounts were still operated by real human teams. If AI-managed accounts are used, the number will increase geometrically. Cracking down on AI-managed accounts is also a form of "pre-emptive intervention" for Xiaohongshu.

Example of an AI-managed account

Ultimately, Xiaohongshu's governance action this time is a common protection for users, creators, and the platform. For users, Xiaohongshu protects the space for real sharing and prevents users from being misled by false content. For creators, it maintains a fair and healthy creative environment, allowing high-quality real human content to achieve a positive cycle and receive due exposure and rewards. For the platform, it adheres to the core values of the community and preserves its foundation.

 Where Are the Boundaries of AI Agents?

It should be noted that Xiaohongshu's crackdown on AI-managed accounts this time is not a one-size-fits-all approach to the use of AI technology.

In fact, AI agents are not a scourge. In the community scenario, their reasonable application can provide assistance to users and creators and enrich the community content ecosystem.

What Xiaohongshu has banned this time is the behavior of relying entirely on AI management for posting, interacting, and even operating accounts, but it does not restrict creators from using AI technology as an aid in their creation. In other words, the real issue that the platform values is whether it is a human or an AI behind the content production.

After all, the real experiences and emotions that support the community atmosphere on Xiaohongshu can only come from people. The emotional exchange between people cannot be replaced by any AI.

Therefore, when AI agents try to invade the authenticity of the community, they cross Xiaohongshu's insurmountable bottom line. Technology can serve content creation, but it cannot be used to fabricate reality and deceive users.

The essence of the community is "the real connection between people". The value of technology lies in assisting this connection, not replacing it. People hope that AI is a tool to assist their lives, but they do not want it to infiltrate their lives without a trace. At least, it should not be the one that decides what they see, induces, deceives, or even affects their decisions. AI agents can be used as an aid, but they must never replace real people as the main body of the community.

Especially for UGC communities like Xiaohongshu that rely on trust relationships, what users pursue is the sharing of real experiences and sincere interactions. It is the warmth between people, not the false content carefully packaged by algorithms, nor the "template notes" mass-produced by AI. Once this authenticity is broken, the cohesion of the community will be dissolved, and the value of the platform will also collapse.

From a macro perspective, the large-scale implementation of AI agents is an inevitable trend. To some extent, AI and the community are not in an opposing relationship. Only by finding a reasonable application boundary can they achieve symbiosis. Xiaohongshu's governance of AI-managed accounts is not only a protection of its own community ecosystem but also provides inspiration for the industry on the application of AI agent technology in the community scenario.

After all, the dynamic symbiosis with AI will be a future test that all content platforms will face together. Today is just the beginning.