On December 15th, Ant Group announced that its AI health app AQ has been rebranded as "Ant Afu" and released a new version of the App, upgrading three key functions: health companionship, health Q&A, and health services.
The upgraded "Ant Afu" focuses on the "Health+" strategy, shifting its positioning from an AI tool to an AI health friend. It can help users manage their own and their family's health like a real friend, offering the advantages of professional, personalized, and rich service.
Currently, the monthly active users of the "Ant Afu" App have exceeded 15 million, ranking among the top five AI Apps in China, and becoming the largest AI health management App. According to the information, the Afu App answers over 5 million health-related questions daily, with 55% of users coming from third-tier and below cities, showing obvious inclusiveness.
AQ is rebranded as "Ant Afu"
Launch of the Health Companionship Function - From Tool to Friend
Zhang Junjie, Vice President of Ant Group and General Manager of the Health Business Group, introduced that the name "Afu" symbolizes that health is happiness, and when it comes to health issues, users should turn to Afu.
The biggest change in the new version of Afu is the addition of the "Health Companionship" function module, aiming to help users develop healthy habits from daily life and build a health defense system.
Firstly, users can record their health conditions through the "Health Diary" module on the home page. Currently, Afu supports integration with nine major smart devices including Apple, Huawei, vivo, Yuyue, and Omron. Users can bind these devices to synchronize their daily health data, and view information such as activity level, heart rate, and sleep duration on the home page.
In addition to smart devices, users can also record by taking photos or uploading images. In some areas, users can even authorize the import of their past medical records and health check-ups directly into Afu for archiving and organization, preventing loss or forgetting.
Users can also create health files for their family members on Afu. Afu will track and analyze health trends like a "family doctor," safeguarding the health of the entire family.
Secondly, the new Afu also launched two companion-style features: "Health Goals" and "Health Reminders." Users can set health goals related to exercise, diet, and lifestyle. Afu will act like a "personal trainer," creating customized plans based on these goals and reminding users daily.
Zhang Junjie stated that upgrading from AQ to Afu is also a process of evolving from an AI tool to an AI friend. The upgraded Afu can accompany users like a friend, understand them like a friend, and be as trustworthy and reliable as a friend.
Upgrade of Afu Health Q&A, Answers More Professional
"The professionalism and usefulness of an AI tool are its foundation," said Zhang Junjie. In his view, Afu should be able to communicate with users one-on-one like a doctor friend, private nutritionist, or sports coach, not just general talk, but tailored solutions for each individual.
Because of the health companionship module, Afu remembers users' health dynamics, so its answers naturally become more targeted and precise.
For users who cannot clearly describe their condition, Afu's "AI Clinic" mode simulates a real person, asks follow-up questions, and even provides diagrams to help users accurately describe their issues.
Afu's health Q&A can not only understand voice and text but also interpret images. Users can take pictures to ask questions: skin conditions, test reports, medicine boxes, all can be photographed and sent to Afu for scientific explanations.
According to the information, Afu's "Skin Photo" feature can provide personalized skincare advice and can accurately identify 50 common skin diseases. Under the "Invisible Photo" mode, the question image is fully blurred, eliminating privacy concerns. Afu's "Report Photo" supports photo-taking, PDF file upload, and photo upload. It not only supports single report interpretation but also multi-report comparison analysis, covering 99% of common reports with an accuracy rate of over 95%.
Zhang Junjie introduced that Afu's position is as an AI health friend, solving basic and common health questions in users' lives, accompanying them in developing healthy habits, and addressing needs between daily life and hospitals.
Afu's answers are not medical diagnoses and will never replace real doctors. For users with real medical needs, Afu, as a platform, connects 300,000 real doctors nationwide, providing online consultation services. Users can also ask Afu to help with appointments, medication purchases, and use Afu to display electronic medical insurance codes for payment at hospitals.
It is known that six national academicians, including Liao Wanqing, Dong Jiahong, Wang Jun, Chen Zijiang, Wang Jian'an, and Wang Ningli, have led more than 500 famous doctors to open their "AI avatars" on Afu, answering over 27 million health consultations. "Afu can become a helper for hospitals and doctors, using digital platforms and intelligent technology to make one doctor equivalent to ten doctors, making professional health services more accessible," said Zhang Junjie.
As early as November 2023, the Zhejiang Provincial Health Commission jointly launched the first digital health assistant in the country, "Anzhen'er," which became an AI application with national influence in the medical field and responded to the public's demand and expectations for professional AI.
