WeChat employee @KecunXiaojiang has addressed privacy concerns regarding the platform's new AI assistant, Xiaowei. The assistant is currently in limited beta testing and was developed internally by the WeChat team to assist with tasks such as checking weather, tracking packages, and ordering food.
The AI can be activated across various WeChat features, including Moments, Official Accounts, and Channels, to summarize content or provide additional information. The company emphasizes that the assistant operates within the same permission scope as the user, meaning it cannot access deleted data or private information beyond what the user can see.
Regarding chat history, the assistant only accesses specific messages when a user explicitly initiates a request within a chat. The system processes this data locally and does not store the original chat logs, following a 'use and discard' logic. The company explicitly denied claims that the AI reads all private messages.
Xiaowei also supports interaction between users. A user can request their assistant to communicate with a contact's assistant to coordinate tasks. The system requires user confirmation before finalizing any actions during these automated exchanges between the two AI agents.
