Welcome to the forefront of conversational AI as we explore the fascinating world of AI chatbots in our dedicated blog series. Discover the latest advancements, applications, and strategies that propel the evolution of chatbot technology. From enhancing customer interactions to streamlining business processes, these articles delve into the innovative ways artificial intelligence is shaping the landscape of automated conversational agents. Whether you’re a business owner, developer, or simply intrigued by the future of interactive technology, join us on this journey to unravel the transformative power and endless possibilities of AI chatbots.
Innovation
Ant’s health chatbot has become a top downloaded app in China as users seek personalized care they can’t get from the overburdened hospitals.
Ant Group, Alibaba’s fintech affiliate and parent of China’s ubiquitous payment app Alipay, is racing to lead the country’s digital health market with a chatbot designed to be a wellness companion.
Its app, Ant Afu, uses artificial intelligence and agentic capabilities to answer health-related questions, suggest hospital appointments, analyze test results, and remind users to exercise or take medication. First created in June under the name AQ, it had recorded 30 million monthly active users by January, with more than half of them living in small cities, according to Ant Group’s chief executive Han Xinyi.
Internet users have increasingly turned to AI for everyday health questions and companionship, especially in markets where access to physicians is limited. Despite concerns about patient safety and data privacy, products like Ant Afu are widely embraced in China as consumers seek more personalized, round-the-clock health support.
China’s primary care system is underdeveloped. Most people seek treatment for everything from the flu to cancer at sprawling, overcrowded public hospitals that are concentrated in big cities. Patients often complain of long wait times, short consultations, and poor bedside manner of exhausted clinicians.
This demand for better care, combined with a fast-aging population, has created a fertile ground for digital health products that can spare people the burden of visiting hospitals. Tech companies including JD.com, ByteDance, and Baidu have all built online medical consultation tools, and more recently, chatbots branded as AI doctors.
Ant has a unique advantage as Alipay has long hosted the appointment and payment systems for many hospitals. Millions of people access their national medical insurance accounts through Alipay. In January 2025, Ant acquired Haodf, a leading online consultation portal with more than 300,000 registered physicians.
In the U.S., AI companies are also expanding their health-care offerings, but they do not yet offer direct access to the country’s large number of private providers and insurers. This month, both OpenAI and Anthropic announced tools targeting consumers, health-care providers, and clinical researchers. Both ChatGPT and Claude now offer features that analyze users’ medical reports and fitness data.
Among its domestic rivals, Ant’s extensive partnerships with regulators, hospitals, and doctors give it an edge in the AI health-care race, Ivy Yang, a China tech analyst and founder of New York-based consulting firm Wavelet Strategy, told Rest of World. On Ant Afu, users can ask health-related questions, book online consultations and offline appointments at major hospitals, and get reimbursed by state or commercial insurance.
“For startups, the bureaucratic red tape and initial investment required to build the platform, be compliant with all health-care data [regulations], and deal with various government agencies seem like too big a hurdle to overcome,” Yang said.
Ant’s foray into health care has been endorsed by its billionaire founder Jack Ma. He came up with the name Afu, because it made the chatbot sound like a friend, chief executive Han told Chinese tech outlet Latepost this month. “He really cares about whether or not Afu can be like an AI friend that offers emotional companionship and humane care,” Han said, “rather than being just a tool for solving professional problems.”
Ma hopes to one day launch the app in underdeveloped parts of Africa and Southeast Asia, Han said.
Ant has spent tens of millions of dollars marketing Afu in China, according to Han. Ant Afu ads have popped up in subway stations, on social media feeds, inside public restrooms, and have been painted on walls in rural China, according to photos shared online. By the end of January, Ant Afu ranked among the top ten most-downloaded iOS apps in China, according to Sensor Tower data.
The expanding role of AI in patient care, a largely unregulated area, has also prompted warnings about misinformation around the world. A recent investigation by The Guardian found that Google’s AI summaries were giving out inaccurate health advice. Academics have also found AI diagnostic tools to harbor racial or socioeconomic biases.
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