Fighting for the AI smartphone entry point, Doubao and WeChat are in a fierce competition.

According to media reports, WeChat is collaborating with mobile phone manufacturers such as Huawei, Honor, Xiaomi, OPPO, and vivo to launch the A2A (Agent-to-Agent) assistant capability. Users can initiate voice or video calls on WeChat through the mobile phone's voice assistant or send messages to friends.

Currently, some Honor models already support this function. By updating the YOYO intelligent agent and WeChat to the latest versions, users can wake up YOYO. For example, saying "Make a WeChat video call to Lao Wang" and then leaving the rest to the phone.

Half a year ago, Doubao Phone (Nubia M153 equipped with Doubao Phone Assistant) also attempted to control WeChat on behalf of users but quickly hit a boundary.

A large number of users received a pop-up window from WeChat saying "Abnormal login environment", and their accounts were forcibly logged out. The Doubao team immediately announced that they had voluntarily removed the ability to operate WeChat.

Both are using AI to send WeChat messages on behalf of users. Why can Huawei and Honor phones do it, but Doubao Phone can't?

Behind the opening and prohibition of permissions, what exactly are these internet giants and mobile phone manufacturers competing for?

What has WeChat opened up?

This time, WeChat has not opened up full permissions to multiple mobile phone manufacturers.

The list of capabilities disclosed by Tencent is very short: sending messages, initiating voice calls, and initiating video calls.

This means that the mobile phone's AI assistant cannot access chat records, browse the Moments, manage group chats, or perform complex tasks.

The call link is also worth noting.

This mechanism does not involve the mobile phone's AI assistant directly operating the WeChat interface. Instead, the mobile phone manufacturer's AI assistant sends structured instructions to WeChat. After receiving the instructions, WeChat executes them itself and then returns the results.

WeChat always holds the execution and risk control rights, and key actions are still completed within WeChat's authorized link.

In contrast, Doubao Phone Assistant takes a different approach.

It does not run inside a specific app. Instead, it obtains advanced permissions through the mobile phone's operating system, just like a human using a mobile phone.

The AI assistant can read the screen content across apps, understand the task intention, and simulate click operations to complete a series of actions such as price comparison, ordering takeout, and automatically replying to messages.

The premise of this entire logic is that the AI assistant is the master of the mobile phone, and numerous apps are just objects that it can freely dispatch.

When this logic encounters WeChat, trouble arises.

The "Tencent WeChat Software License and Service Agreement" clearly states that it is prohibited to log in to or use WeChat services through third - party software, plugins, cheats, or systems not developed or authorized by Tencent. It is also prohibited to control, access, read, or interfere with WeChat components, modules, and data.

Doubao Phone Assistant uses system - level permissions to simulate user operations. Such behaviors are easily recognized as third - party automated operations in WeChat's risk control system, thus triggering the existing protocol boundaries and security mechanisms.

The AI route of Doubao Phone has already crossed WeChat's red line from the moment it enters the WeChat scenario.

Competing for the entrance in the AI era

However, the conflict between WeChat and Doubao is far more complex than that.

WeChat is not only a communication tool but also a traffic empire.

The operation of the monetization system, including Moments ads, the mini - program ecosystem, and Video Account information flow, is based on the premise that users open and stay in WeChat.

If Doubao Phone Assistant can send messages and make calls on behalf of users without the users ever opening WeChat or staying in the WeChat ecosystem, it will be a huge blow to WeChat.

What's even more dangerous is that if users get used to this operation, the mobile phone's AI assistant will replace WeChat as the entrance, and WeChat will degenerate into a background execution module. Their positions will be completely reversed.

This is an outcome that WeChat cannot accept.

Looking at WeChat's A2A cooperation from the opposite perspective, the logic becomes clear.

Opening up limited and structured capabilities to mobile phone manufacturers seems like an opening, but in fact, it is an active form of closure.

The mobile phone assistant can only do what WeChat allows. Each call goes through WeChat's execution layer, and the risk control and data rights remain in WeChat's hands. The opponent only gets a key with limited functions.

It's worth noting that this defensive battle is not being fought by WeChat alone.

In the week after the launch of Doubao Phone in December 2025, Taobao, Alipay, Meituan, and Pinduoduo successively took restrictive measures. Eight out of 23 mainstream apps could not run normally on Doubao Phone.

Behind this number reflects the current reality:

Super apps regard system - level mobile phone AI assistants as a threat because they bypass all app interfaces and thus bypass the business systems on which apps rely for survival.

Therefore, the confrontation between WeChat and Doubao is not a dispute over the technical route of AI assistants but a collective resistance of the super - app ecosystem accumulated in the mobile internet era to a new order.

Now, all manufacturers are competing for the entrance in the AI era. Whoever can control the entrance where users issue instructions will get the super ticket to the next era.

The same battle is being fought overseas

This conflict is not unique to China.

In 2022, Apple launched the App Intents framework, allowing the mobile phone assistant Siri to perform operations within apps without opening them.

The core of the mechanism is that apps actively declare which capabilities they open up, and Siri can only call the authorized parts.

This A2A logic is exactly the same as that of WeChat, that is, you can only get what the app is willing to give you.

Even though Apple's Siri is not as aggressive as Doubao, the reality is still embarrassing. Some of the world's largest app developers are delaying.

They are worried that Apple may charge commissions from apps that connect to Siri in the future. Before the business terms are clearly negotiated, they are not willing to open up their capabilities first.

A more direct conflict occurred between Amazon and Perplexity.

In 2025, Comet Browser Agent under Perplexity could log in to Amazon accounts, browse products, and place orders on behalf of users, bypassing all of Amazon's interfaces throughout the process.

Amazon immediately filed a lawsuit, and the case is still ongoing.

Perplexity pointed out in a statement that the problem with Comet is that it "doesn't have eyes to see Amazon's ads bombarding users", directly revealing the essence of this conflict.

Google's approach is also aggressive and has already sparked privacy disputes.

Since July 2025, Gemini can help users call apps such as Phone, Messages, WhatsApp, and Utilities. Even if users turn off Gemini Apps Activity, these capabilities can still be used.

At Google I/O 2026, Google launched Gemini Spark, advancing the agent from one - time conversations to all - day background operation.

This is similar to the direction of Doubao Phone Assistant, both competing for the right to act on behalf of users.

However, as a system - level AI assistant, Gemini can be more aggressive than Doubao because Google has the Android ecosystem and is the platform provider itself.

Doubao is breaking through within the boundaries of others' systems and apps, so it is naturally more likely to be blocked by super apps like WeChat.

Now, Google is promoting the A2A protocol, aiming to enable agents from different manufacturers to discover, communicate, and collaborate with each other without reading each other's internal data.

By 2026, more than 150 organizations had participated in the A2A protocol. This is currently the international Agent interconnection solution closest to industry consensus.

However, technical standards do not mean commercial viability. Especially in China, the Google A2A protocol will not be simply copied.

Behind this are issues such as commercial control, user data ownership, account risk control responsibility, and attribution of payment disputes.

Any one of these issues alone cannot be solved by an open protocol.

A more realistic path is for the mobile phone's AI assistant to become the entrance for users to issue instructions, super apps to firmly hold the execution right, and large - model manufacturers to be responsible for understanding and planning.

The competition for the entrance in the AI era will not end with a complete victory for one side.

Through numerous negotiations, blockades, and compromises, a new order will eventually emerge.

This article is from the WeChat official account "World Model Workshop". The author is World Model Workshop. It is published by 36Kr with authorization.