China's fintech giant Ant doubles down on health care with new AI app — and it wants it to go global

BEIJING — Alibaba-affiliate Ant Group is doubling down connected wellness attraction with a caller smartphone app, based connected artificial quality exertion that the institution says could beryllium rolled retired overseas.

It's the latest motion of however China-developed AI is rapidly gathering user applications. Ant, relation of the fashionable Alipay mobile payments app, has focused overmuch of its AI improvement efforts connected health care based connected ample connection models from DeepSeek, Alibaba and Ant.

In a telling motion of planetary aspirations, the caller health-care app launched connected Thursday has a straightforward English sanction — AQ — which stands for "answer your question," said Zhang Junjie, wide manager of health-care concern astatine Alipay.

Users tin consult AI avatars of real-life aesculapian specialists earlier getting precedence entree for a diagnostic assignment oregon infirmary attraction if the concern is superior enough, helium said. AQ tin pat much than 5,000 hospitals and astir 1 cardinal doctors successful China, according to Ant.

While Ant's absorption is connected the mainland China marketplace for now, the caller app oregon its tech could beryllium licensed retired to a 3rd party, Zhang said, without specifying a clip frame. He said galore foreigners successful China person already utilized a aviator mentation of the app, and that Ant plans to merchandise versions of the app successful different languages.

Chinese companies from startups to much established companies specified arsenic Tencent and Ping An Insurance person agelong sought to capitalize connected the integration of net and bundle with wellness care. In the past respective months, U.S.-based tech giants specified arsenic Microsoft and Amazon.com person besides announced progress connected AI-powered health-care tools.

In China, a ample information excavation and nationwide accent connected digitalization person helped supply a instauration for AI-powered health-care functions, according to a report past period from the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business. It pointed retired that China's nationalist wellness security strategy covers much than 95% of the country's 1.4 cardinal people, portion astir 70% of hospitals person integer record-keeping systems.

Alipay is 1 of the 2 large mobile payments apps successful mainland China. In summation to payments, the app tin beryllium utilized to wage the h2o bill, hail a taxi oregon bid groceries from Alibaba's supermarket chain.

The payments app has besides branched into wellness attraction implicit the past decade, with features specified arsenic allowing users to digitally marque an assignment astatine 1 of China's notoriously crowded nationalist hospitals, alternatively of having to hold successful enactment for a ticket.

Those Alipay health-care services person already reached astir 80 cardinal users successful China, Zhang said.

The standalone AQ app incorporates those features, on with AI-powered functions specified arsenic doc recommendations, aesculapian study investigation and personalized aesculapian advice.

Alipay has expanded to users extracurricular China, arsenic has its mobile payments rival WeChat.