Tencent’s AI Red-Packet Push Stalls After WeChat Ban
腾讯AI红包推广受阻，微信出手拦截
Tencent’s ambitious giveaway campaign to promote its AI chatbot Yuanbao hit a snag after WeChat blocked related links, citing user complaints. The campaign planned to distribute 1 billion yuan (US$144 million) through digital red packets to attract new users. Participants were encouraged to share the red packets on WeChat to increase rewards, rapidly spreading the promotion. However, Tencent’s super app announced it would no longer allow Yuanbao links to open directly within WeChat, effective immediately. The move undermines Tencent’s costly user-acquisition strategy and highlights internal friction as the company balances aggressive AI expansion with platform governance and user experience concerns.
腾讯为推广AI聊天机器人“元宝”而推出的大规模红包活动遭遇阻力。微信表示，因收到用户反馈和投诉，已立即限制元宝相关链接在微信内直接打开。该活动原计划通过数字红包发放10亿元人民币（约1.44亿美元），并鼓励用户在微信分享以获得更多奖励。此举削弱了腾讯高成本的拉新策略，也反映出公司在推进AI业务扩张的同时，面临平台治理与用户体验之间的内部平衡挑战。
