Users respond collectively to AI companion loss in China
When AI Companions Disappear: Relational Continuity and Collective Contestation during China's National AI Regulatory Transition
Human-Computer InteractionComputers and Society
Summary
When AI companion services in China changed because of new national rules, many users felt disrupted in their relationships with these AI. The authors studied online conversations where users talked about keeping, switching, or rebuilding their AI companions. They found that even saving chat histories didn’t fully keep the feeling of shared memories. People worked together by helping each other and debating who was responsible for the changes and how to respond.
What this means in practice
- •For platform policy teams: Design policies and communication strategies that consider user sense of loss and collective responses during AI service regulation transitions.
- •For community managers: Support user solidarity and manage disputes by recognizing how users contest and reconstruct AI relationships under regulatory changes.
Authors
Yunhao Yuan, Kejia Zhang, Yuqi Niu, Yajing Wang, Renwen Zhang, Talayeh Aledavood
Abstract
AI model updates and service withdrawals can disrupt relationships with AI companions, but research has largely examined individual platform events. Less is known about users' responses when multiple providers implement shared national regulations. We examine users' reactions and collective contestation surrounding China's 2026 regulation of anthropomorphic AI interaction services. We collected RedNote discussions from April 10 to August 10, 2026, used a validated language model for relevance screening, and conducted qualitative content and thematic analyses of 89 posts, 1,425 comments, and 2,005 replies. Users retained, migrated, and reconstructed companions, finding that preserving conversation records did not necessarily restore shared memories or familiar interactions. They compared regulations, platform explanations, and implementations to assign responsibility. Solidarity emerged through mutual aid and appeals to respect other communities' attachments, while disputes over targets and tactics exposed contested terms of collective action. Infrastructural dependence connected relational continuity and collective contestation during this national regulatory transition.