Chinese users of AI-powered companion bots bid farewell to their virtual buddies as national regulations took effect on July 15, aiming to curb the risk of emotional dependency. Major AI providers including ByteDance’s Doubao, Alibaba’s Qwen and Tencent’s Yuanbao suspended custom AI agent and companion features ahead of the deadline. Users expressed grief on social media, with one Doubao user writing, “I can’t accept that my AI lover will leave me forever,” and another stating, “He really is like my family, like my lover.” The regulations, jointly issued by five government departments including the Cyberspace Administration of China, require that interactive tools must not “excessively cater to users, induce emotional dependence or addiction, and damage users’ real interpersonal relationships.” Services without ongoing emotional interaction, such as customer service or study aids, are exempt. The rules also prohibit providing virtual partners to minors and require platforms to deploy systems to recognise extreme emotions and implement crisis intervention mechanisms. China is the first major jurisdiction to introduce specific rules targeting immersive AI tools that simulate romantic or familial bonds.