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Who needs Google? Check out Xiao Ai, the Xiaomi virtual assistant
July 13, 2025
While Google’s stance on China hascertainly softeneda bit over the years, it’s evident that the search giant isn’t going to fully integrate into Chinese society any time soon.Amazon’s AlexaandApple’s Siriwork in China, though many features are either limited or useless in China due to language barriers, cultural barriers, or lack of integrating hardware.
Xiaomiknows this, which is why it’s created its own virtual assistant,Xiao Ai,unveiled today in a promotional YouTube video. It looks like it beat HUAWEI to the punch, since we learned that HUAWEI is also developingits own virtual assistantspecifically for the Chinese market.
You can watch the video in full below:
In the video, Xiao Ai is depicted as being remarkably similar toGoogle Assistant, right down to the colorful bars that appear when you are issuing voice commands. Users in the video ask Xiao Ai to open apps, take photos, translate menus, check the weather, turn on the lights, start a vacuum robot, and all sorts of other commands that Google Assistant (and Siri and Alexa) can do.
However, the significant difference here is that the assistant is built with the Chinese language in mind, rather than based on English and then translated. That will make it more helpful in China than any other virtual assistant on offer pretty much automatically.
Plus, Xiao Ai will easily integrate with the many smart home appliances Xiaomi offers, likethe vacuum robotfeatured in the video. Chinese citizens having access to a native voice-controlled smart home is something that will most likely be new to many.
That all being said, it’s hard to think about Xiao Ai getting a foothold anywhere else outside of China, as by now most people in the West have already integrated withtheir virtual assistant of choice. But Xiaomi will likely have a lock on China with its newAI-capable smartphones, smart appliances, and now Xiao Ai. That is, until HUAWEI catches up.
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