Direct answer
GB/T 47746—2026 is China's national standard for how human agents and AI customer service must work together. It was published on 2026-05-25 and took effect on 2026-09-01. Six questions cover the whole practical path: what the standard is and who it covers, whether a recommended standard can be ignored, where the widely-quoted figure of 53 mandatory self-check items comes from, which five situations require automatic transfer to a human, how to run a self-check, and whether going live needs filing or registration. Each answer below states the clause it rests on.
Why AI customer service stopped being just a technology question
Until recently, choosing an AI customer service tool was a technology decision: does it answer accurately, how much does it cost, how long does setup take. That changed on 2026-09-01, when GB/T 47746—2026 took effect.
The standard is about one thing: the handover between an intelligent service and a live agent. Not the AI model, not the accuracy of the answers — but what happens at the moment the conversation has to move from machine to human, and back again. That is the part that had been left to each vendor's judgement, and it is the part customers complain about most.
For a small business this matters in a specific way. If your AI customer service is a vendor's product that you simply switched on, the handover behaviour is whatever the vendor chose. If a customer complains, the question is no longer what the vendor does — it is what your business does.
What this cluster answers
Six atomic answers, each complete on its own:
- What the standard is and which businesses are in scope.
- Whether a recommended national standard is binding if it is not labelled mandatory.
- Where the 53 mandatory self-check items come from — and how that number relates to the standard itself.
- The five situations that require automatic transfer to a human agent, as listed in 5.2.2.6.
- How to self-check whether your AI customer service is compliant, step by step.
- Filing versus registration for going live, and what the difference means in practice.
Two points of discipline apply throughout. First, every claim about what the standard requires points to the clause it comes from. Second, where a figure is derived — produced by parsing the standard rather than printed in it — the page says so, because conflating the two is what creates false confidence during an audit.
Frequently asked in this cluster
When did GB/T 47746—2026 take effect?
Published 2026-05-25, effective 2026-09-01. Both dates appear on the standard's cover and bibliographic record.
Which businesses does it apply to?
It governs customer contact service where human agents and intelligent customer service operate together — most directly businesses running customer service on chat or phone, including small and medium businesses using a third-party AI tool.
It is a recommended standard. Can I ignore it?
It is a GB/T standard, which is recommended rather than mandatory, so it does not create a fine on its own. But it can become binding through procurement requirements, platform rules, contracts, or being referenced in registration and filing processes — and it is increasingly the yardstick a customer or a partner will measure you against.
How many items does a self-check involve?
A clause-level parse of the standard yields 47 clause nodes, of which 24 contain the normative word for shall. The frequently quoted figure of 53 mandatory items is a derived checklist figure, not a number the standard itself prints. Treat it as a working checklist rather than an official count.
Where can I get the original text?
The standard is published through China's national standards system and the full text is distributed by the standardisation authority. Any summary — including this one — should be checked against it.
All answers in this cluster
What is GB/T 47746—2026 and who does it cover?
GB/T 47746—2026 is China's national standard on collaboration between live and intelligent customer services. Published 2026-05-25, effective 2026-09-01, governing the handover between AI and human agents.
GB/T 47746: does my company have to comply?
GB/T denotes a recommended Chinese national standard, not a mandatory one. Here is how a voluntary standard nonetheless becomes binding for a small business, and what to do about it.
Where does the figure of 53 mandatory items come from?
The number 53 is widely quoted for GB/T 47746—2026 self-checks, but the standard does not print it. Here is how it is derived from a clause-level parse, and how to use it honestly.
Which five situations require transfer to a human?
GB/T 47746—2026 clause 5.2.2.6 lists five situations requiring automatic transfer from intelligent to live service — including explicit refusal, information security, and response timeout.
How to self-check AI customer service against GB/T 47746
A five-step self-check for GB/T 47746—2026: read the handover clauses, map them to your configuration, test with real questions, record what cannot be met, then fix and retest.
Does AI customer service need filing or registration?
备案 (filing) and 登记 (registration) are two different processes for AI services in China. What separates them, what each requires, and why the distinction matters before you go live.