Alibaba’s wholesale platform empowers merchants with new AI search tool to source products
Alibaba Group Holding‘s global business-to-business (B2B) marketplace, the wholesale platform serving more than 200,000 merchants, on Friday unveiled a new artificial intelligence tool designed to make cross-border trade more efficient.
Alibaba.com, which operates under the group’s international commerce arm, has created “AI Mode” for its online search engine to help global users reliably find the products they need, according to Zhang Kuo, the platform’s president. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.
In AI Mode, tailored results and recommendations are generated via natural language queries.
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Based on user queries, the AI tool would automatically compare suppliers in minutes – using metrics that include price and production capabilities – and provide straightforward recommendations, Zhang told the Post in an interview on Thursday. Before AI, this was tedious sourcing process that took days or weeks to complete, he said.
The new tool was launched to coincide with Alibaba.com’s inaugural CoCreate Europe trade fair in London, an event designed for small and medium-sized businesses.
AI Mode, which will be available online from next month, shows Alibaba’s sharpened focus on the technology to help improve its products and services.
Alibaba.com president Zhang Kuo. Photo: Jonathan Wong alt=Alibaba.com president Zhang Kuo. Photo: Jonathan Wong>
Zhang said AI Mode marked “a big upgrade” to the search process at Alibaba.com, as it generated accurate and simple recommendations based on users’ metrics and preferences.
Citing an example, Zhang said one Bolivian merchant needed to source hundreds of products – including medals, starting pistols, chairs and raincoats – for a regional sports event, a process that typically takes many days to complete. With AI Mode, the merchant simply let the system do the sourcing process based on his requirements.
“This would be the largest change that AI Mode would bring to the B2B e-commerce sector,” Zhang said.
AI Mode is backed by Accio, an Alibaba AI sourcing engine that matches suppliers with buyers. Zhang said Alibaba.com intends to charge for the use of AI Mode and Accio, targeting 1 million subscribers by the end of March 2027. Free limited trial use will also be provided.
Earlier this year, Zhang said all sellers on the platform would adopt its AI tools by the end of 2025.
