HONG KONG/SHANGHAI, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Tencent ( TCTZF ) said on

Sunday its Weixin messaging app, China's largest, is

allowing some users to search via DeepSeek's artificial

intelligence model as firms race to link up with the AI startup.

In a beta test, Weixin is testing access to DeepSeek for

searches, Tencent ( TCTZF ) said in a statement to Reuters.

The move by the Chinese tech giant is notable as integrating

DeepSeek brings in an external AI platform, while tech firms

compete fiercely in developing the most advanced AI.

Weixin uses Tencent's ( TCTZF ) proprietary Hunyuan large language

model to enrich its AI search, a spokesperson said.

Tencent ( TCTZF ) is exploring the integration of multiple products

with DeepSeek, including Tencent Cloud AI Code Assistant and

Tencent Yuanbao, another AI assistant app, said a person with

knowledge of the matter.

DeepSeek is being tested by Weixin, which serves domestic

users, not its sister app WeChat, which targets overseas users.

The two had a combined 1.38 billion users at the end of

September.

In a separate announcement, Baidu ( BIDU ) said it would fully

connect its search engine to DeepSeek as well as its proprietary

Ernie large language model.

DeepSeek last month upended the AI world, launching a free

AI assistant that it says uses less data at a fraction of the

cost of incumbent services. It quickly overtook U.S. rival

ChatGPT in downloads from Apple's App Store.

Among Chinese companies seeking to capitalise on DeepSeek's

potential breakthrough, automaker Great Wall Motor and leading

telecoms providers are integrating the AI model released by

DeepSeek into their offerings.