Internal testing of AI payments: WeChat aims to break through a key link for Agents

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Author | Huang Yu

Since 2026, "AI shopping" has become an important area of competition for major Agents. To complete the AI shopping closed loop, enabling AI payments is very crucial.

According to insiders at Tencent, WeChat Pay is testing AI payment capabilities with WorkBuddy, and early tests are currently being conducted internally within the company. Tencent has confirmed this news to Wallstreetcn.

Tencent also stated that in addition to WorkBuddy, WeChat Pay is also conducting small-scale AI payment tests in QClaw, and in the future, plans to open up to more Agent platforms.

Utilizing WeChat Pay's AI payment capabilities, users can state consumption needs in their dialogue with Agents, thereby experiencing an automated consumption experience from smart Agent recommendation to placing orders and completing payment via WeChat Pay.

The MPR Commercial Ecosystem Head at Tencent revealed on her social platform that the AI payment introduced by WeChat Pay is already running on her WorkBuddy. Now, by simply telling her WorkBuddy "help me order KFC delivery," it can help you choose items, add them to the cart, and then pay directly using a new exclusive AI card in WeChat Pay.

She also pointed out that activating the AI-exclusive card with WeChat Pay involves a spending limit, and requires final user confirmation for payment—it is always under user control.

AI payment refers to a new type of convenient payment service adapted for the AI era. Its core is to embed payment capabilities into Agent dialogue flows, making transactions as natural as conversation.

Throughout the entire Agent ecosystem, AI payment serves as foundational infrastructure.

In April 2026, WeChat Pay officially announced the release of a whole set of AI payment integration Skills: including a Skill toolkit, AI-friendly documentation, and AI-friendly APIs. With just "trigger AI—load Skill—state needs," WeChat Pay integration can be rapidly completed.

Once AI payment is enabled, Tencent Agent’s capabilities will also be further expanded.

At the sub-forum of the 2026 Tencent Cloud AI Industry Application Conference held on June 5, WorkBuddy publicly announced a new product plan: beyond work, WorkBuddy's capabilities will be expanded into life services, covering frequent needs like meals for workers, afternoon tea, and daily consumption.

Among them, KFC will become WorkBuddy Life Zone’s first Western restaurant partner.

Tang Daosheng, Senior Executive Vice President of Tencent Group and CEO of Cloud and Smart Industries Group, pointed out that intelligent Agents like WorkBuddy are still in the stage of strategic investment, and the company has not set commercialization targets for the team.

Tang Daosheng believes that WorkBuddy has a clear business model in enterprise scenarios, and compares WorkBuddy to Tencent Meeting a few years ago: it has both ToC and ToB attributes. Next, Tencent aims to leverage WorkBuddy’s C2B capabilities to build a sustainable service system.

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