On September 5, 2026, Autohome launched 'Zhishi Car Butler' (Cheese Car Steward), an automotive-service AI agent built on the thesis that the hard problem in car consumption is no longer information but trustworthy judgment and reliable service. The product entered the Qianwen open platform the next day, joining Xiaoyi and WorkBuddy as distribution entry points.
The agent's logic rests on two wheels. The 'AI capability plus real-owner ecosystem' helps users choose: rather than listing parameters, it weighs space, range, charging and family needs to give a leaning recommendation with stated trade-offs, drawing on Autohome's Cangjie industry model plus 1 billion real reviews and 50 million owner testimonials from its 150-million-owner base. The 'AI capability plus service ecosystem' helps users own: natural-language requests are matched to fulfillable resources.
On the supply side, Zhishi connects nearly 30,000 4S stores, more than 12,000 used-car dealers and over 100,000 upkeep-service resources across 369 cities, with qualification checks, capability verification and credit-rating admission to surface quality merchants. Its value proposition is distilled to two lines: less hesitation when choosing, less fuss when owning.
Autohome chairman and CEO Liu Chi framed the launch as a shift from information platform to trusted decision-making, while CTO Xiang Bibo said AI excels at processing information but information volume does not equal answer credibility. As L4 autonomy arrives, the agent is designed to extend from serving owners to serving the vehicle itself - arranging its own charging, washing and maintenance.
Image: Vehicles on display at an international mobility show. Source: Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0).
