Wuhan issues nine measures to support AI agents and smart terminals

Wuhan has published a policy document titled “Measures to Support the Development of AI Agents and Smart Terminals,” setting out nine dedicated steps in that area. The item was surfaced through smart-city industry channels and circulated under a headline that names both the nine measures and the city itself.

The title alone says a good deal about where the policy points. One end is AI agents — systems that plan, call tools and carry out multi-step tasks; the other is smart terminals, the hardware that carries those capabilities to users. Putting both in a single document suggests the policy is not confined to models or algorithms but covers how capability reaches devices and real-world workflows.

That is why the item matters. For much of the past two years, local AI policy has centred on foundational inputs such as compute, models and data. When the word “agent” starts appearing in the title of a government measures document, the concept has moved from technical debate into the vocabulary of industrial policy.

A “several measures” document with nine specific steps usually implies a package spanning multiple links in the chain rather than a single subsidy. Concrete terms — eligibility, levels of support, application windows — typically arrive later in implementation guidelines, so the release is a starting point rather than a finished programme.

For agent and terminal makers, the signal works on two levels: access to pilot scenarios, and greater certainty on resources and compliance. The first determines whether a product can be tested in real business processes; the second shapes the pace of development and deployment. Which companies benefit, and how, will depend on the follow-up rules.

The broader trend is that agents are moving from single-purpose tools toward executing longer task chains, while terminals remain the most direct way those capabilities reach users. Pairing the two in one policy responds to a view gaining ground in the industry: capability creates value only when it lands on a specific device and a specific process.

Points to watch include whether funding and pilot scenarios are spelled out, whether there is dedicated support for compute and data, how application and evaluation mechanisms are designed, and whether the measures connect with existing industrial parks and compute platforms. Those details will determine how much real investment the nine steps mobilise.

What is already clear is that agents and smart terminals have entered the formal agenda of local industrial policy. For companies in the space, the practical task now is tracking how the rules are implemented rather than reading the headline.