ByteDance to Launch Spell AI Agent in Coming Weeks in Push to Close Gap With US Labs

ByteDance is preparing to release a Muse-like AI agent, internally called Spell, within the coming weeks, according to Bloomberg. The product has been in internal testing since April and is expected to integrate with the company's existing Doubao AI assistant. Co-founder Zhang Yiming laid out the plan at a recent all-hands meeting with ByteDance's AI team, setting the agent launch as a key near-term priority.

Zhang told researchers and engineers that ByteDance aims to compete with leading US labs such as Anthropic and OpenAI, though he cautioned the company would need until at least 2029 or 2030 to reach the cutting edge. The move comes as Meta's AI agent Muse, launched in early September 2026, has set a rapid pace in the market, crossing five million downloads within three weeks. Tencent is also developing competing agent technology, underscoring intensifying rivalry across China's tech sector.