ByteDance Is Reportedly Working On Its Own AI Agent

ByteDance wants to take on Meta’s Muse with its own AI agent. The company is readying an AI assistant that could be revealed in “the coming weeks,” Bloomberg reports.

The report doesn’t detail what the agent will be called or how it will work, but says that it will “serve a similar role” to Meta’s Muse. Muse has already drawn more than 10 million users and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has predicted the AI agent could generate more revenue per user than its existing “family” of apps. The agent is also expected to play a significant role in Meta’s AI glasses, and the company has previewed a standalone “charm” for Muse.

It’s not clear if ByteDance is also planning on incorporating its agent into hardware. The AI assistant is one piece of the Chinese company’s strategy to compete with frontier AI companies. ByteDance cofounder Zhang Yiming recently told employees that it would likely take “until at least 2029 or 2030” for the company’s AI efforts to catch up, Bloomberg reported. Within the AI space, ByteDance has been primarily known for its video generator, Seedance. Clips from the video model went viral on social media platforms earlier this year, which eventually drew legal scrutiny from US-based studios.

If the TikTok maker does introduce its own AI agent, it would also likely raise new concerns about data privacy and how much access personal agents should get. ByteDance didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.