The announcement and how it works
Cao Cao Mobility announced that it has entered 12580, China Mobile's intelligent personal assistant, becoming the operator's first partner in the on-demand mobility services segment. The news, reported by IT之家, was released on the occasion of Mobile Network Conference 2026, held the day before the article was published.
According to the source's reconstruction, the collaboration combines two distinct areas of expertise: on the one hand, Cao Cao Mobility's ability to manage its fleet compliantly and guarantee the transport service; on the other, the functions of the 12580 assistant, which recognizes the user's intent, manages voice interaction, and organizes the requested activities. The stated goal is to offer a taxi-booking experience entirely based on artificial intelligence.
The novelty lies in the fact that the user does not have to go through another app. Users need only express their request by voice, for example by asking to be taken to a certain place, for Cao Cao Mobility's service to activate within the same conversation. In the chat, users can confirm trip details, choose the vehicle type and fare, and automatically pay for the ride: a complete cycle from request to completion of the service.
What changes and what remains to be seen
The significance of the agreement should be read on two levels. The first concerns distribution: placing a taxi service in an assistant already integrated into the ecosystem of a major telecom operator can expand the pool of reachable users without forcing them to install a dedicated app. The second concerns the interaction model: booking shifts from an interface made up of menus and screens to a natural-language dialogue, with AI interpreting the request and translating it into a concrete operation.
The scope of this step, however, is currently limited. The source specifies that activation on 12580 represents the first step in a joint trial. The technical connection takes place via the A2A protocol, with a single integration into the Lingxi control system; on the basis of this architecture, at a later stage the service could also be made available through other access points in the China Mobile ecosystem, thereby increasing coverage.
The material does not indicate user volumes, cities involved, the financial terms of the agreement, or precise timelines for extending the service to other platforms: these are therefore aspects that remain to be verified. It is also not specified whether the service is already operational for the public or has only been announced.
A final contextual element concerns Cao Cao Mobility's strategy: the company has already connected its booking service to several conversational interfaces, including the Doubao smartphone assistant, Honor's YOYO, OPPO's Xiaobu, and Qwen AI glasses. Entry into 12580 is therefore part of a broader plan aimed at making taxi requests an operation available within everyday assistants, rather than only in mobility apps.
