BEIJING: Alibaba is preparing to announce the integration of its AI platform Qwen with online marketplace Taobao, a move to encourage shopping through conversations rather than keyword searches, according to people familiar with the decision.
The move will allow consumers to browse, compare and purchase products through the Qwen app by chatting with an artificial intelligence agent rather than manually navigating through product listings.
The Qwen app will give you access to Taobao and Tmall’s entire catalog of over 4 billion products, backed by a “skills library” that allows you to manage logistics and after-sales service. It also provides shopping recommendations based on the user’s order history and shopping preferences.
Alibaba launches an AI shopping assistant powered by Qwen that includes tools for virtual try-on and 30-day price tracking within Taobao.
Alibaba’s AI-driven shopping efforts highlight the gap between Chinese and Western e-commerce platforms. China’s model allows AI to be directly integrated into actual transactions.
In the US, platforms are more fragmented. Amazon is using AI to improve shopping within its marketplace, but remains cautious about complete autonomy.
Rather than running an integrated consumer AI platform, Shopify in Canada allows the use of external AI agents.
