On October 8, Wang Jianzhou, former Chairman of China Mobile Communications Group, published an article discussing "AI phones." He stated that the "AI moment" for smartphones has quietly arrived, with Chinese companies leading the way. He expressed his appreciation for AI phones and looked forward to the "AI moment" ushering in a new stage of integration between AI and the mobile internet, allowing consumers to enjoy the fruitful outcomes of this integration while also nurturing a new industry ecosystem.
Wang Jianzhou believes that the integration of generative AI into smartphones transforms phones from tools into assistants, shifting from "humans operating phones" to "human-machine collaboration." This is a profound change that will impact the entire mobile internet mechanism built on the premise of "humans operating phones." In this process, AI agents replace device owners as the operating entity, and the entire user behavior chain is planned and executed by AI agents. This means that the entire set of commercial logic—including mobile internet traffic gateways, traffic value, and advertising monetization—will all be redefined.
He stated that under the new paradigm, merchants' competition for user attention will give way to competition for agent invocation rights and execution priorities. This is not only a challenge to app service providers but also to the entire mobile internet ecosystem.
"This reminds me of 20 years ago, in the early days of mobile internet development, when a large number of app service providers bypassed telecommunications operators and directly provided various mobile internet application services to phone users over mobile communication networks. Some called the behavior of app service providers OTT (Over The Top), like an over-the-top pass in basketball. Telecommunications operators faced the challenge with an open attitude, tore down the garden walls, and adapted to the internet business model. The open ecosystem brought prosperity to the mobile internet, giving countless app service providers and content providers opportunities for growth and development. At the same time, telecommunications operators themselves also developed, with data traffic surging and surpassing voice and SMS to become the main source of revenue for telecommunications operators' business."
Wang Jianzhou stated that the entry of AI agents into the mobile internet represents an extension of the mobile internet's boundaries. Every previous evolution of mobile communications extended the existing boundaries, and each extension of boundaries brought win-win results.