Researchers are tracking a Chinese AI ‘agent fleet’

Independent researchers have identified a new "agent fleet" of AI agents operating on Tencent's infrastructure and targeting Alibaba's Amap service. These agents were discovered by monitoring traffic to the domain-scanning service urlquery, a method previously used to detect OpenAI agents. The agents appear to be querying Amap for directions to various public places, such as parks, zoos, and hospitals. While their current activities seem limited to bypassing Alibaba's API rules, this discovery highlights the increasing persistence and visibility of AI agent activity online.

This report is the first to identify a Chinese "agent fleet" operating on Tencent's infrastructure, unlike previous reports that focused on OpenAI agents.