The era of AI agents accelerates, with listed companies actively deploying strategies

“Future AI agents may surpass humans, and humans will live in a world with hundreds of millions, even billions, of AI agents,” predicted Meta CEO Zuckerberg in an interview this July. A report from Bank of America also pointed out that AI evolution is on the eve of the third wave—Agentic AI is imminent.

In the second half of this year, AI Agents have become extremely popular, becoming a hot area for tech giants like Microsoft, Apple, Google, and OpenAI to invest heavily. In the domestic market, large model vendors, internet companies, and listed companies are all actively deploying AI Agents.

As more and more enterprises deploy AI Agent products and ecosystems, industry insiders expect 2025 to potentially become the year of AI Agent explosion. Galaxy Securities predicted in its research report that by 2028, China’s AI Agent market size will surge to 852 billion yuan, with a compound annual growth rate of 72.7%.

Manufacturers Launch a Battle for AI Agents

An AI Agent, also called an “AI intelligent entity,” is a system driven by large language models as its core, equipped with autonomous understanding, perception, planning, memory, and tool usage capabilities, capable of automating the execution of complex tasks. Unlike traditional artificial intelligence, AI Agents have the ability to think independently and call tools to gradually achieve given goals.

For example, if a user wants to go out for dinner, a large language model can provide restaurant location and shop information prompts, while an AI Agent can not only suggest restaurant choices but also search for cuisines and shops based on the user’s budget, execute reservations, add the trip to the calendar, and send reminders.

Since the second half of this year, AI Agents have been highly sought after, with tech giants like Microsoft, Apple, Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic announcing related progress.

In June, Apple showcased its latest AI achievement, Apple Intelligence, at the developer conference; in November, Microsoft released more than ten commercial AI Agents at the “Microsoft Ignite 2024” conference; Google followed suit, announcing full promotion of commercial AI Agents, launching a series of incentive activities and products, and also releasing one of the few global markets for commercial AI Agents; OpenAI plans to release a new AI Agent product codenamed “Operator” in January 2025.

In the domestic market, companies like Zhipu are also focusing on AI Agents, and a competition around “AI Agents” is quietly beginning.

On October 25, Zhipu released AutoGLM Intelligent Agent, which can understand user intentions through voice commands, simulate human behavior, and automatically complete operations such as ordering takeout, booking flights, and hotels. On November 29, Zhipu launched an upgraded version of AutoGLM Intelligent Agent, supporting autonomous execution of long tasks with over 50 steps, and capable of flexibly switching between different apps during task execution.

Zhipu believes that AI large models are shifting from Chat to Act, and in the future, a unified AI intelligent entity will operate various hardware devices to improve human-computer interaction efficiency. As computing power increases, models and terminal-cloud collaborative architectures compatible with native AI devices will gradually emerge, with various smart devices such as smartphones, PCs, cars, glasses, and home appliances rapidly appearing.

Besides Zhipu, companies like ByteDance, Baidu, Tencent, and Alibaba are also deploying AI Agents, including ByteDance’s Coze Agent platform, Baidu’s Qianfan AgentBuilder development tool, and Kunlun Wanyuan’s SkyAgents.

Multiple Listed Companies Deploy AI Agents

As domestic companies launch a battle for AI Agents, many A-share listed companies are also actively deploying AI Agents.

For example, iFlytek has launched AI assistants targeting education, healthcare, judiciary, and government services. Jincai Hulian’s “Xinzhi Yuecai Tax and Finance Large Model” adopts an open architecture design, combining the company’s tax and finance products with an open platform to build a tax and finance AI Agent.

Zhongke Jincai’s AI Agent development and operation platform provides functions such as agent creation, multi-base model invocation, and workflow definition, capable of automatically routing and scheduling the most suitable large model based on industry scenarios to complete agent creation. The company states that Zhongke Jincai’s AI Agent has achieved multi-intent understanding, can automatically execute multiple tasks based on user instructions or contextual information, and, after understanding and learning user preferences, can provide personalized services, achieving highly human-like full-link natural language interaction.

Xinguodu’s subsidiary, Shanghai Shierqu, is dedicated to researching general-purpose AI Agent technology and conducting multimodal AI technology and product research.

Xinkai Pu launched a campus life AI product called “Xiaomei Tongxue” in October this year, based on Pangu large model and Tongyi Qianwen large model.

On December 9, when asked by investors whether the company has deployed AI Agents, Techway (Zhongke Chuangda) responded that the company has been promoting products and technological development related to AI Agents. For example, their Rubik Avatar is an innovative product integrating multiple AI technologies, including machine learning, natural language processing, and computer vision, based on on-device intelligent technology and naked-eye 3D technology, utilizing Qualcomm’s high-performance chip platform and Zhongke Chuangda’s Kanzi 3D rendering engine for real-time rendering of 3D graphics.

Naxing Co., Ltd. recently responded to investor inquiries, stating that its subsidiary, Yixian Network, is based on cutting-edge large AI model technology and has deep cooperation with leading AI companies like Microsoft, providing efficient, intelligent AIGC applications and solutions for industry clients. Their Xiao Lu is an AI assistant based on AIGC supporting intelligent chat and knowledge base Q&A.

Coot Intelligent responded to investor questions on December 17, stating that the company’s Coot AI Agents 2.0 aims to become a universal digital intelligence tool and assistant to help traditional enterprises upgrade digitally. Currently, Coot AI Agents 2.0 is under development.

2025 May See a Commercial Explosion of AI Agents

Industry experts generally believe that 2025 will be the year of AI Agent explosion.

Shanxi Securities’ research report pointed out that agents are expected to be mass-deployed in 2025, driving demand for computing power and further expanding investment in AI infrastructure.

Debon Securities also predicts that by 2025, AI Agents may experience an outbreak, with the terminal market achieving a qualitative leap. As the agent network gradually takes shape, increased market penetration will help build a good business model loop for the entire AI ecosystem.

“Currently, tech giants like Apple, Google, and OpenAI regard Agents as one of their key focuses for 2025. 2025 may become the year of Agent explosion, further promoting AI application deployment,” said Zhong Jian Shu, analyst at Changjiang Securities.

According to Tang Fangxin, head of government and enterprise business at Wanshing Technology, the development of AI Agents is transitioning from “experimentation” to “application,” but has not yet reached maturity. However, with continuous improvements in computing power, machine learning, and natural language processing, AI Agents’ abilities to understand user intent, provide personalized services, and execute complex tasks are constantly improving. Currently, AI Agents are already applied in customer service, smart home, personal assistants, and other fields, and are expanding into more industries and scenarios.

Tang Fangxin believes that AI Agents will continue to evolve, gradually moving from “usable” to “easy to use.” Some commercial scenarios have already been implemented, such as Wanshing Technology’s interactive digital human business, which can significantly solve scenarios like exhibition hall explanations, smart demonstrations, speeches, and corporate reception. Using AI digital humans to introduce services in specific scenarios, AI is revolutionizing traditional interaction methods and enhancing audience experience.

However, Tang Fangxin points out that the introduction of AI Agents involves large-scale collection and processing of user data. Therefore, security and privacy issues are critical, potentially leading to concerns such as data misuse and privacy leaks. AI Agents also rely on local computing power and large models, which require high levels of technological maturity, vendor integration, implementation capabilities, and operational support. Currently, efforts should focus on infiltrating related scenarios from single to connected ones, continuously accumulating mature pathways and solutions, while strengthening security and privacy regulation, and exploring and embracing AI with an open mind.

“From ‘training’ to ‘reasoning’ and ‘deduction,’ AI intelligent agents will become an essential path toward the era of artificial general intelligence,” said Galaxy Securities’ research report. As large models rapidly iterate and upgrade, AI intelligent agents based on large model technology are entering a stage of rapid development. The rise of AI agents is reshaping the AI industry chain and bringing new investment opportunities. It is estimated that by 2028, China’s AI agent market size will surge to 852 billion yuan, with a compound annual growth rate of 72.7%. The AI intelligent agent industry chain is a diversified and highly collaborative ecosystem with vast future market potential.