Four billion products, one sentence to find them. Citing sources familiar with the plan, Reuters reported on July 24 that Alibaba is set to fully integrate its AI large language model Qwen into Taobao, replacing traditional keyword search with conversational commerce. Users can instruct an AI agent to find products, compare prices, place orders, and even handle logistics tracking and after-sales service.
Two-Layer Service: Qwen App and Taobao App
Qwen, Alibaba's in-house LLM, surpassed 100 million monthly active users within two months of its public beta launch in November 2024. After integration, Qwen offers two layers: inside the Qwen App, users can browse, compare, and purchase products through natural language conversation. The AI agent accesses Taobao and Tmall's combined catalog of over 4 billion products and a "skill library" for logistics and after-sales. It supports ordering more than 40 items in a single request with payment completed directly in the chat interface. Inside the Taobao App, a Qwen-powered AI shopping assistant provides virtual try-ons, 30-day historical lowest price tracking, and personalized recommendations based on past orders and preferences.
China's E-Commerce Goes All-In; West Stays Cautious
Western platforms are taking a more conservative approach. Amazon introduced AI into its e-commerce system but keeps it at the "advisory" level—AI recommends, but users still decide and execute. Shopify relies on third-party AI agents to plug into its merchant ecosystem rather than building its own consumer-side AI. Alibaba chose to let AI cross that line and integrate the entire consumer chain: e-commerce (Taobao, Tmall), payments (Alipay), instant delivery (Taobao Flash Buy), travel booking (Fliggy), and mapping (AutoNavi). This direction aligns with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's early-2026 prediction that agentic AI will reshape $50 trillion of the physical economy.
New Rules for Merchants
For merchants, the game has changed. Instead of fighting over keyword rankings in the search box, the new battleground is whether AI agents can correctly interpret, tag, and recommend their products. After two decades of precision search, Alibaba is rewriting the rules.