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China's market for AI agents expected to quadruple to $1.96b in 2025: Think-tank

- Joyce ZK Lim

SHENZHEN - A revolution of sorts is taking place at a Guangdong software development firm.

In just three months, Guangdong Create Science and Technology has produced some 50 software systems, up from an average of one or two per year, said Mr Huang Qijun, the firm's chief AI (artificial intelligence) officer.

This is all thanks to an army of AI agents, designed to autonomously replicate what the firm's software engineers do at each stage of the development process.

Rolled out in May, these agents can do in a matter of hours or days what would have taken humans months. "And you don't have to pay them a salary," said Mr Huang.

The use of AI has given the firm a clear edge over its competitors, he said. The company can now slash prices by some 70 per cent, and submit tender bids with a version of the requested software already enclosed.

"This is a revolutionary thing," he said. "Why wouldn't people use it?"

Mr Huang's firm is one of a growing number of businesses applying AI to their workstreams, as China ramps up efforts to diffuse a technology seen as a way to turbo-charge the economy.

Some 53 per cent of 226 Chinese companies say they are integrating AI across multiple workflows — 11 percentage points higher than the global average, according to a May 2025 survey by consulting firm Accenture.

Still, the government has loftier goals. It released in late August a road map to accelerate the integration of AI across China's economy and society, an initiative known as "AI Plus".

It wants the adoption of AI agents and intelligent devices to exceed 70 per cent by 2027, and 90 per cent by 2030. More advanced than chatbots, AI agents can automate complex tasks and take actions to achieve goals with minimal human supervision.