1、ab6 March 2025Global ResearchChina AI IntelligenceAI agents:AI applications frontierWhat are AI agents and why does it matter?Given the strong traction gained through DeepSeek-R1(which emphasizes iterative problem-solving capability with high cost efficiency)and recently unveiled general-purpose AI

2、agent Manus,we believe LLM development in China is entering the inference-dominated phase,which echoes Microsofts comments that AI investments are increasingly dictated by real-world application demand.We note investor discussions around AI agents,which are LLM-powered intelligent systems designed t

3、o automate workflows,enhance decision-making,and execute complex task across various domains(Fig 1-3),and could be key for future AI monetisation.With rapid development of AI infrastructure and foundation model performance,we expect AI agent product launches to increase,starting from 2025,with enhan

4、cing capabilities and user adoption.Multiple types of active industry participants Similar to the US,we see four major groups of companies advancing the development of AI agents in China(Fig 4).1)Internet/tech leaders usually focus on general-purpose AI agents deeply integrated into their large ecos

5、ystems.For example,Baidu search enabled AI agent to host information,content and services for advertisers to meet user demand and improve lead conversion(see Baidu World 2024 takeaways and AI channel checks).Major internet cloud vendors such as Alibaba and Baidu also launched agent building platform

6、s to facilitate enterprise adoption(Fig 5).2)Software companies with large enterprise customer bases are embedding AI agents into their product suites.For example,Yonyous recruitment management solutions leverage AI agents to automate the hiring process.3)Personal device OEMs(eg,Vivo)are launching A