China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has issued new network-access rules for smartphones, tablets, wearables and other telecom devices that ship with pre-installed artificial intelligence agents. The notice was published on 6 November 2026 and brings agent-equipped terminals into the country's existing telecom equipment management framework.

An agent terminal is defined by the ministry as a telecommunications device with an AI agent pre-installed. The category covers familiar consumer hardware, but the software changes how a device behaves: an agent can interpret an instruction, access information, choose a tool and carry out a sequence of actions on the user's behalf.

Compatibility checks and disclosure

Under the notice, developers are expected to verify that their agents are compatible with specific terminal models and operating systems. The product settings page should disclose a list of devices that have completed the relevant adaptation checks, so users can see where an agent has actually been tested.

Developers must also submit adaptation information to application distribution platforms before listing an agent. The aim is to make compatibility and security status visible in advance, rather than leaving users to discover limitations only after installing or switching on the software.

The rules also connect agent-equipped devices with network-access testing and anti-fraud assessment. Devices with pre-installed agents must undergo checks that cover agent adaptation and fraud-related risks, because agents can interact with communication services and may be asked to carry out tasks that resemble legitimate user behaviour.

Permissions, payments and user rights

The notice sets expectations on permission use, communications functions, network and data security, user rights and the way agents execute tasks on a device. That matters because a capable assistant may need to search a marketplace, book transport, send a message or retrieve an invoice, raising questions about which apps permit agent access, what information can be exposed and how a user confirms an action that has consequences.

A poorly designed system could expose a user to impersonation, unauthorised actions or manipulation through malicious instructions. The notice places responsibility on developers and device makers to consider those risks before products reach the market.

Orderly development, not a ban

The ministry's approach is not simply a restriction on agentic features. Its accompanying explanation describes the goal as creating a more orderly environment for new terminal products while allowing development to continue, with an emphasis on AI serving users and remaining under human control.

For smartphone makers, the notice may add work to product certification and release schedules. A device that previously needed to show radio and network compliance may now also have to show that its embedded agent behaves appropriately with the operating system and the permissions it requests. Developers may need to maintain compatibility lists, document changes and coordinate more closely with app stores, and smaller firms could face a heavier relative burden because they have fewer compliance staff and testing devices.

The notice is numbered Gong Xin Ting Xin Guan [2026] No. 42 and was signed on 24 October 2026, according to governance records tracking the measure. The most important details for the market will emerge through implementation standards and testing practice, including what evidence regulators expect, how agent updates are handled and what happens when a model or operating system changes after certification. The signal is clear, though: China intends to regulate AI agents as part of the device and telecom environment in which they operate, not merely as downloadable software.