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ByteDance Rolls Out AI Voice Assistant for Chinese Smartphones

FILE PHOTO: Bytedance logo is seen in this illustration taken February 8, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Bytedance logo is seen in this illustration taken February 8, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
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ByteDance Rolls Out AI Voice Assistant for Chinese Smartphones

FILE PHOTO: Bytedance logo is seen in this illustration taken February 8, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Bytedance logo is seen in this illustration taken February 8, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

Chinese tech giant ByteDance said on Monday it is launching an artificial intelligence voice control tool that will debut on a smartphone made by ZTE Corp, before becoming available on phones from other manufacturers in due course.

The AI assistant, powered by ByteDance's popular Doubao large language model, allows users to voice activate tasks such as finding content and booking tickets.

The tool will compete with similar AI features introduced by Chinese smartphone makers such as Huawei and Xiaomi, Reuters reported. Apple has yet to make its Apple Intelligence available in China, though Alibaba has said it would partner with Apple to develop AI features for iPhones in the country.

ByteDance's AI voice tool will first appear on ZTE's Nubia M153 handset, currently a prototype priced at 3,499 yuan ($495). The device is available for pre-order in limited quantities.

Shares in ZTE surged 10% on Monday, their highest level since October 29, helped by reports of the phone as well as news that it had won a string of contracts to supply 5G equipment in Vietnam.

ByteDance said in a statement it has no plans to develop its own smartphones and is in talks with multiple phone makers to roll out the AI voice assistant.

ByteDance, which owns TikTok and the short video app's Chinese version Douyin, has emerged as the leading player in consumer AI apps in China due to its chatbot Doubao.

Doubao had 159 million monthly active users in October, far more than Tencent's Yuanbao at 73 million and DeepSeek at 72 million, according to AI product tracking platform Aicpb.com.

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Technology

OpenAI to Introduce Ads to All ChatGPT Free and Go Users in US

The ChatGPT app icon on a smartphone in this illustration taken October 27, 2025. (Reuters)
The ChatGPT app icon on a smartphone in this illustration taken October 27, 2025. (Reuters)
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OpenAI to Introduce Ads to All ChatGPT Free and Go Users in US

The ChatGPT app icon on a smartphone in this illustration taken October 27, 2025. (Reuters)
The ChatGPT app icon on a smartphone in this illustration taken October 27, 2025. (Reuters)

OpenAI will begin showing ads to all users of the free and Go versions of ChatGPT in the United States in the coming weeks, a company spokesperson said in an emailed statement to Reuters.

The move was ‌first reported ‌by The Information.

OpenAI has ‌recently ⁠integrated Criteo, an ⁠advertising technology firm that provides an interface for buying ads and improving targeting, into its advertising pilot for the free and Go versions of ChatGPT in ⁠the US, Criteo said in ‌a statement earlier ‌this month.

Criteo has been pitching advertisers ‌on committing between $50,000 and $100,000 ‌in spending, according to The Information.

OpenAI has also advised advertisers that supplying more variations of ad text and ‌visuals can increase how often ads are shown and improve ⁠performance, ⁠the Information added.

OpenAI has been exploring advertising as a new revenue stream as usage of ChatGPT has surged, Reuters has reported.

The company is seeking to diversify revenue as it faces rising costs for computing infrastructure amid intensifying competition in generative AI.

Technology

Czech Authorities Probe Suspected Arson at Drone Technology Company

Emergency services attend the industrial storage hall after a fire in Pardubice, Czech Republic, Friday March 20, 2026. (Josef Vostarek/CTK via AP)
Emergency services attend the industrial storage hall after a fire in Pardubice, Czech Republic, Friday March 20, 2026. (Josef Vostarek/CTK via AP)
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Czech Authorities Probe Suspected Arson at Drone Technology Company

Emergency services attend the industrial storage hall after a fire in Pardubice, Czech Republic, Friday March 20, 2026. (Josef Vostarek/CTK via AP)
Emergency services attend the industrial storage hall after a fire in Pardubice, Czech Republic, Friday March 20, 2026. (Josef Vostarek/CTK via AP)

Czech authorities said Friday they were investigating a fire at a warehouse of a company that makes drone technology as a suspected arson linked to terrorism.

The fire broke out in an industrial zone in the city of Pardubice, some 100 kilometers (60 miles) east of Prague, causing no injuries, police said.

LPP Holding confirmed a fire in one of its buildings. It said it was cooperating with the investigation and declined further comment.

The company develops and makes products for civilian and military use, such as drone technologies used by Ukraine’s armed forces in the fight against the Russian invasion.

Interior Minister Lubomír Metnar said “the incident may be related to a terrorist attack.”

“At the moment, we don’t have information about a further danger,” he said.

According to The Associated Press, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš called the news “very serious.” Top police officer Martin ondrášek said police assumed arson.

The fire was extinguished by firefighters and police said there was no danger to the public. It was not immediately clear what was inside the warehouse that was on fire.

LPP Holding had previously said it was planning to open a center to develop and produce drones and train personnel in cooperation with Israeli Elbit Systems, a military technology company.

Metnar said the Czech side will share details of the investigation with its foreign partners.

Technology

White House Urges US Congress to Act on AI

FILE PHOTO: Figurines with computers and smartphones are seen in front of the words "Artificial Intelligence AI" in this illustration created on February 19, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Figurines with computers and smartphones are seen in front of the words "Artificial Intelligence AI" in this illustration created on February 19, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
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White House Urges US Congress to Act on AI

FILE PHOTO: Figurines with computers and smartphones are seen in front of the words "Artificial Intelligence AI" in this illustration created on February 19, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Figurines with computers and smartphones are seen in front of the words "Artificial Intelligence AI" in this illustration created on February 19, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

The Trump administration on Friday unveiled a sweeping legislative blueprint for regulating artificial intelligence, pressing Congress to establish a uniform federal standard and override a potential patchwork of state-level laws.

The four-page framework, billed by the White House as a "commonsense national policy framework," lays out broad priorities, including provisions on child protection, energy costs, intellectual property and free speech.

The White House is also seeking federal preemption of state AI rules, after states moved to pass their own laws amid political gridlock that has blocked federal legislation in Washington, AFP reported.

"Congress should preempt state AI laws that impose undue burdens to ensure a minimally burdensome national standard consistent with these recommendations, not fifty discordant ones," the framework states.

In a major shift, the difficulty in passing laws at the federal level has seen major AI companies pivot to supporting state laws they can get behind.

OpenAI said this week that in the absence of a national framework, states "should align around the emerging model in California and New York."

Google president of global affairs Kent Walker told Axios that state coordination on AI laws is welcome and flagged legislation California and New York backed by pro-big tech governors as a good example to follow.

On child protection, the White House calls for age-verification requirements for AI platforms likely to be accessed by minors, parental controls over privacy settings and screen time, and mandatory features to combat sexual exploitation and self-harm risks.

On intellectual property, the Trump administration believes that the training of AI models on copyrighted material "does not violate copyright laws," but acknowledging arguments to the contrary, it "supports allowing the Courts to resolve this issue."

Despite the White House's push for swift action, like most attempts at tech regulation in the United States, the legislation faces a tough road to become law in Congress.

Two previous attempts by the White House to enshrine federal preemption in Congress have failed.

The administration has also threatened to impose broadband and internet funding restrictions on states whose AI legislation is judged as too cumbersome.