The era of AI agents is accelerating, and publicly traded companies are actively deploying strategies.

“Future AI agents may surpass humans, and humans will live in a world with hundreds of millions or even billions of AI agents,” predicted Meta CEO Mark 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 focus on. In the domestic market, large model vendors, internet companies, and listed companies are actively deploying AI Agents.

As more companies develop AI Agent products and ecosystems, industry insiders expect 2025 to be the year of explosive growth for AI Agents. Galaxy Securities forecasted 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%.

Companies Enter the AI Agent Competition

AI Agent, also called “AI intelligent agent,” is a system driven by large language models that possesses autonomous understanding, perception, planning, memory, and tool usage capabilities, enabling the automation of complex tasks. Unlike traditional AI, AI Agents can 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 suggest restaurant locations and related information. An AI Agent can not only recommend restaurants but also search based on the user’s budget, execute reservations, add the trip to a 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 developments.

In June, Apple showcased its latest AI achievement, Apple Intelligence, at the developer conference. In November, Microsoft released over ten commercial AI Agents at “Microsoft Ignite 2024.” Google followed closely, 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 launch a new AI Agent product codenamed “Operator” in January 2025.

In the domestic market, companies like Zhipu have also focused on AI Agents, and a competition centered around “AI Agents” is quietly underway.

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

Zhipu believes that large AI models are shifting from Chat to Act, and in the future, a unified AI intelligent agent 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 smart devices like 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 compete in AI Agents, many A-share listed companies are also actively involved.

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, 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 create agents. The company states that Zhongke Jincai’s AI Agent can understand multiple intents, automatically perform multi-task operations based on user instructions or context, and provide personalized services after learning user preferences, achieving highly human-like full-link natural language interaction.

XinGuodu’s subsidiary, Shanghai Shierqu, is dedicated to researching general-purpose AI Agent technology, exploring multimodal AI technologies and products.

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

On December 9, Zhongke Chuangda responded to investor inquiries about AI Agent deployment, stating that the company has been advancing product and technology development in this area. For example, their Rubik Avatar integrates 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 chips and Zhongke Chuangda’s Kanzi 3D rendering engine for real-time rendering.

Naxing Co., Ltd. recently responded to investor questions, saying that its subsidiary, Yixian Network, is deeply collaborating with leading AI companies like Microsoft, providing efficient, intelligent AIGC applications and solutions for industry clients. Their “Xiaolu” is an AI assistant based on AIGC supporting intelligent chat and knowledge base Q&A.

Cootes Intelligence responded to investor inquiries on December 17, stating that their Cootes AI Agents 2.0 aims to become a universal digital intelligence tool and assistant to help traditional enterprises upgrade digitally and intelligently. The 2.0 version is currently under development.

2025 Could See a Commercial Explosion of AI Agents

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

Shanxi Securities’ report pointed out that Agents are expected to be widely deployed in 2025, driving increased demand for computing power and further expanding investment in AI infrastructure.

Debon Securities also predicts that by 2025, AI Agents may experience a breakout, leading to a qualitative leap in the terminal market. As the Agent network gradually takes shape, increased market penetration will help build a solid commercial ecosystem for the entire AI industry.

“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’s breakout, further promoting AI application deployment,” said Zhong Jian-shu, an analyst at Changjiang Securities.

Wanshang Technology’s government and enterprise business leader Tang Fangxin believes that AI Agent development 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 steadily increasing. Currently, AI Agents are already applied in customer service, smart home, personal assistants, and are expanding into more industries and scenarios.

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

However, Tang also points out that introducing AI Agents involves large-scale collection and processing of user data. Privacy and security issues are critical, potentially leading to concerns about data misuse and privacy leaks. AI Agents rely on local computing power and large models, which require high technical maturity, integration, implementation capabilities, and operational support from vendors. Currently, the focus should be on expanding from single scenarios to interconnected ones, accumulating mature pathways and solutions, while strengthening security and privacy regulation, and exploring and embracing AI with an open mind.

“From ‘training’ to ‘inference,’ AI intelligent agents will be an essential step toward the era of artificial general intelligence,” said Galaxy Securities’ 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 creating new investment opportunities. By 2028, China’s AI agent market size is expected to 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.