TLDR: Ant Group’s artificial intelligence-driven health application, AQ, has rapidly grown to serve 140 million users since its official launch in June 2025. A significant 60% of its user base resides in third-tier and lower-tier cities, highlighting its role in bridging healthcare access gaps across China. The app offers over 100 AI-powered services, including doctor recommendations and medical report analysis, and has introduced an AI Agent Development Platform to empower medical professionals.
Ant Group’s AI-powered healthcare application, AQ, has achieved a remarkable milestone, reaching 140 million users in less than a year since its official launch in China in June 2025. This rapid adoption underscores the growing demand for digital health solutions, particularly in underserved regions. A substantial 60% of AQ’s user base is located in third-tier and lower-tier cities, demonstrating the app’s effectiveness in addressing healthcare inequality and extending medical services beyond urban centers.
The announcement was made at the 2025 INCLUSION · Conference on the Bund in Shanghai, where Ant Group unveiled new updates and features for AQ. The platform provides a comprehensive suite of over 100 AI-powered healthcare services, designed to support users in their daily health needs. These services include AI-driven doctor recommendations, sophisticated medical report analysis, and personalized health advice.
AQ facilitates access to digital services from more than 5,000 hospitals and offers online consultations with a network of 200,000 doctors. A key feature of the app is its integration of over 300 AI Doctor Agents, which have been co-developed with leading physicians and top hospital departments across China. Notable contributors include Jian’an Wang, Director of the Heart Center at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, and Jun Wang, President of Peking University People’s Hospital, who have built their own AI Doctor Agents available on the platform.
Cyril Han, CEO of Ant Group, emphasized the company’s vision for AI in healthcare, stating, “We hope AI can empower doctors by extending their reach to more patients, freeing up time for medical research and the fight against complex diseases, while equipping community doctors with powerful AI assistants.” This sentiment is echoed by Junjie Zhang, Vice President of Ant Group and Head of Healthcare Business, who previously highlighted the company’s dedication to combating health misinformation with AQ, aiming to make healthcare more accessible and improve people’s lives.
To further empower medical professionals, Ant Group has launched an AI Agent Development Platform. This innovative platform enables doctors and medical institutions to easily create their own custom AI agents, which can enhance patient services and provide crucial support to community doctors. A study involving 150 doctors diagnosing 1,000 patients revealed that with the assistance of a Urology AI Agent developed with Shanghai’s Renji Hospital, diagnostic accuracy among community doctors improved by 4% to 8%.
The app’s growth reflects a broader global trend in healthcare AI. Approximately 75% of leading healthcare companies worldwide are currently experimenting with or scaling generative AI solutions. The urgent demand for such technologies is driven by a projected global shortage of 11 million health workers by 2030 and the fact that 4.5 billion people lack access to essential healthcare services. In China, the rapidly aging population further intensifies this need; by 2035, the country is expected to have more individuals over 60 than the entire U.S. population, placing immense pressure on existing healthcare infrastructure.
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AQ’s success in connecting users to quality healthcare, particularly in rural areas, demonstrates the transformative potential of AI in addressing significant healthcare challenges.
