Doubao Work and Tencent WorkBuddy let desktop agents run while users are away, with phone control

Two of China's widely used desktop AI agents shipped updates on October 28 that let the agent keep working on a computer while the user is away and give the user ways to check in from a phone, according to Pandaily. ByteDance upgraded Doubao Work, and Tencent launched a remote control mode in WorkBuddy.

Doubao Work: record a task once, reuse it as a skill

ByteDance said the computer-use abilities of Doubao Work, its productivity agent, now offer more accurate and faster on-screen clicking.

The main addition is recording. A user demonstrates a task on the computer once, talking through the steps while doing it. When the recording ends, Doubao Work turns the actions and the narration into a personal skill. The next time a similar job comes up, the user picks that skill and explains only what is different, rather than describing every step again.

Doubao Work could previously record browser actions as skills. The new version extends this to operating the whole computer.

Doubao Work: tasks continue on a locked Mac

A new setting allows Doubao to work while the screen is locked. Tasks that need to operate the computer keep running after the Mac locks. A user away from the desk can send a new task to the locked Mac from a phone and see the results there, then take over again after unlocking.

Doubao Work has added several features in recent weeks, including importing chats and memory from other assistants, a canvas, and parallel agents.

WorkBuddy: live view and remote control from the phone

Tencent's WorkBuddy launched a remote control mode, with technical support from the Tencent EdgeOne team. Opening the mobile app connects to the user's computer and shows a live view of the desktop, so the user can watch each step the agent takes.

• The live view floats as a small window above the chat.
• The input box still works, so an agent that goes off track can be corrected.
• In full-screen landscape mode, tapping the phone clicks the same spot on the computer.
• A keyboard panel, common shortcuts and a virtual mouse are available for small targets.

Setup on the Mac requires enabling same-account remote connections and granting screen recording and accessibility permissions.

Tencent says only one verified phone can connect to a computer at a time, and that the session runs over an encrypted channel. It also says user input and remote screen images are not stored, and that remote control uses data traffic but no tokens.

What this means

Both updates address the same limit: a desktop agent that works only while the user sits at the machine. Doubao Work's locked-screen setting removes the requirement that the Mac stay unlocked for computer-operating tasks, and its recorded skills mean a repeated job needs only the differences explained. WorkBuddy covers supervision, since the live view lets a user watch the agent's steps and correct it through the input box.

The two take different approaches to the phone. Doubao Work uses it to send tasks and read results. WorkBuddy uses it to watch and, in landscape mode, directly operate the computer. WorkBuddy's setup also shows what the access requires: screen recording and accessibility permissions on the Mac, and a single verified phone per computer. Tencent's statement that remote control consumes data traffic but no tokens separates the cost of watching an agent from the cost of running it.

Pandaily's reading is that desktop agents are being designed to run in the background, with the phone as the place to supervise them.