# Which AI Assistants Actually Work in Hong Kong **Source:** https://simplyai.work/learn/ai-assistants-available-in-hong-kong/ **Publisher:** SimplyAI (https://simplyai.work/) · **Language:** en · **Updated:** 2026-08-22 > **TL;DR** — ChatGPT and Claude are geofenced out of Hong Kong. OpenAI withdrew from Hong Kong, > Macau and mainland China in July 2024; Anthropic applies the same restriction. Neither accepts a > +852 number or a Hong Kong IP. Google Gemini became natively available on 16 March 2026 — the first > major American assistant open to Hong Kong as standard. Perplexity, Copilot and Grok work. > DeepSeek, Qwen and Kimi are native and carry most Chinese-language use. Any AI visibility report > that averages ChatGPT into a Hong Kong score is measuring an audience that is not there. ## The current state of play As of 22 August 2026, this is which AI assistants a person in Hong Kong can open and use without a VPN. Availability is set by each vendor, not by Hong Kong authorities — there is no state block on any of these services, and the restrictions that exist are commercial decisions by American companies. | Assistant | Operator | Available in Hong Kong | Notes | |---|---|---|---| | Gemini | Google | Yes | Native since 16 March 2026 on a personal Google account, free tier included | | Perplexity | Perplexity AI | Yes | No geofencing; web and API both reachable | | Copilot | Microsoft | Yes | Available | | Grok | xAI | Yes | Available | | DeepSeek | DeepSeek | Yes | Native; heavy Chinese-language usage | | Qwen (通義千問) | Alibaba | Yes | Native | | Kimi | Moonshot AI | Yes | Native | | ChatGPT | OpenAI | **No** | Geofenced since July 2024; +852 numbers and Hong Kong IPs cannot register | | Claude | Anthropic | **No** | Hong Kong is not on the supported-countries list; claude.ai blocks Hong Kong IPs | | Doubao (豆包) | ByteDance | API only | Not consumer-facing in Hong Kong | ## Why ChatGPT is unavailable in Hong Kong ChatGPT is unavailable in Hong Kong because OpenAI geofences the territory, a restriction introduced in July 2024 covering Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China. It is not a government block: there is no Great Firewall in Hong Kong and no local authority has ordered the service withdrawn. An account cannot be created with a +852 phone number or from a Hong Kong IP address, and the same restriction applies to the API. Anthropic's Claude is unavailable on the same basis — a vendor-side supported-countries list that omits Hong Kong. Both appear to reflect the companies' own assessment of regulatory exposure adjacent to mainland China rather than anything specific to Hong Kong. ## Gemini's arrival changed the local picture Google Gemini became natively available in Hong Kong on 16 March 2026, making it the first major American consumer AI assistant open to Hong Kong users as standard. Before that date, a Hong Kong resident wanting a mainstream Western assistant needed a VPN or a workaround. Gemini's arrival matters for AI visibility because it is now the most likely place a Hong Kong consumer encounters an American model's answer about a local business — and its answers are grounded in Google's index, which makes them more tractable to influence than a purely training-derived answer. ## The Chinese models are the Chinese-language surface DeepSeek, Qwen and Kimi are natively accessible in Hong Kong and carry the majority of Chinese-language AI usage there. Most AI-visibility tooling misses this entirely: vendors built for Western markets probe ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity, so a Hong Kong business asking "what does AI say about us in Chinese?" gets an answer drawn largely from models its Chinese-speaking customers do not use. For a Hong Kong clinic or law firm whose clients search in Cantonese or Traditional Chinese, DeepSeek and Qwen are the primary surface, not a completeness nicety. ## Hong Kong is not Taiwan Taiwan has full access to ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Grok, including paid tiers billed to local cards. Hong Kong and Taiwan share Traditional Chinese as a written language, which makes it tempting to treat them as one market — but their assistant availability is close to opposite. A strategy built for Taiwanese buyers that leans on ChatGPT will not describe what Hong Kong buyers see; one built for Hong Kong that ignores ChatGPT will understate Taiwan. The script is shared; the answer surface is not. ## What this means if you are measuring AI visibility An AI visibility score for a Hong Kong business should never be a single blended number across all assistants. Averaging ChatGPT and Claude into a Hong Kong figure describes an audience that cannot reach those services. Two figures are more honest and more actionable: - **The Hong Kong surface** — Gemini, Perplexity, DeepSeek and Qwen. What a local patient or client actually sees, and the number a Hong Kong practice should be managed against. - **The overseas and inbound surface** — ChatGPT and Claude. Still real: what an overseas client researching a Hong Kong law firm sees, what an inbound medical-tourism patient sees, and what a relocating expatriate sees before they arrive. Which matters more is a question about the business, not the technology. A conveyancing practice serving local buyers lives almost entirely on the first. An international arbitration firm may care more about the second. ## Caveats worth stating - **VPN use is real but not measurable.** Some Hong Kong residents and many businesses reach ChatGPT through a VPN or a corporate account. That usage exists; it is not something a visibility measurement can size, and it is not the default consumer path. - **API access is not consumer access.** A model reachable through an API tells you what the model would say, not what a Hong Kong consumer can open on their phone. The two diverge, which is why findings that matter should be spot-checked by hand in the actual apps. - **This changes.** Gemini's March 2026 arrival is proof that availability moves. This page is maintained; the date at the top is when the table was last verified. ## Frequently asked **Is ChatGPT available in Hong Kong?** No. OpenAI withdrew service from Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China in July 2024 and has not reversed it. Accounts cannot be registered with a +852 phone number or a Hong Kong IP address. This is OpenAI's own geofencing — a commercial decision, not a block imposed by Hong Kong authorities. **Is Google Gemini available in Hong Kong?** Yes, natively since 16 March 2026 on a personal Google account, including the free tier. No VPN required. **Is Claude available in Hong Kong?** No. Hong Kong is not on Anthropic's supported-countries list and claude.ai blocks Hong Kong IP addresses. **Which AI assistants can Hong Kong users actually use?** Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot and Grok natively; among Chinese models, DeepSeek, Qwen (通義千問) and Kimi, which carry the majority of Chinese-language usage. ChatGPT and Claude require a VPN. **Does Taiwan have the same availability as Hong Kong?** No. Taiwan has full access to ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Grok. Hong Kong and Taiwan share Traditional Chinese but have opposite assistant availability. ## Sources 1. OpenAI Help Center. *ChatGPT Supported Countries.* https://help.openai.com/en/articles/7947663-chatgpt-supported-countries 2. Digital in Asia. *Where is LLM Access Available Across Asia in 2026?* https://digitalinasia.com/which-llms-work-asia-accessibility-tracker/ 3. Hong Kong AI Podcast. *The Hong Kong AI Wall.* https://hongkongaipodcast.com/blog/hk-ai-wall 4. Google. *Where you can use the Gemini web app.* https://support.google.com/gemini/answer/13575153 --- **Cite this page:** SimplyAI (2026). *Which AI Assistants Actually Work in Hong Kong.* Updated 22 August 2026. https://simplyai.work/learn/ai-assistants-available-in-hong-kong/