Doubao Phone Assistant SAEP notice ends with 155 apps refusing AI control
On 14 October the 30-day notice period for the Doubao Phone Assistant's Screen Automation Operation Declaration Protocol (SAEP) ended with 155 apps opting out of AI automation — 66 from Tencent, 23 from Alibaba, 14 from Kuaishou and 11 from Meituan, including WeChat, QQ, Taobao, Alipay, Tmall, Meituan and Honor of Kings, as well as AI apps like DeepSeek, Kimi and Kling. Users can still install those apps, but cannot have the assistant send WeChat messages, shop on Taobao or order food for them. A first prototype, the M153 (3,499 yuan, December 2025), was blocked for screen reading and simulated taps; the second-generation NaviX Ultra prefers MCP and A2A protocols with taps as a fallback and gives apps 30 days to refuse. Analysts say platforms are protecting entry points, user time, recommendation power and data ownership; rival StepFun's STEPX Neo Preview, which only calls APIs apps open voluntarily, has nearly 100 partners including Alipay, Meituan and Didi.
Whether on-device AI assistants can act inside third-party apps now hinges on platform consent and revenue sharing, making notice-and-consent schemes like SAEP an early test case for agent-era rules.