Alibaba.com is soon launching a new feature that integrates agentic AI capabilities into the user journey.
At its CoCreate Europe event in London today (November 14), Alibaba.com announced the new feature dubbed “AI Mode”.
The retailer said it marks a “new direction” for AI-driven global trade and is a pivotal moment in its evolution into an agentic AI-powered ecommerce platform. It will be rolled out this December.
Once live, AI Mode will understand natural language queries, analyse technical specifications, and automatically compare suppliers across factors including logistics, pricing, production capabilities, and certifications to bring tailored immediate recommendations.
The launch comes amid strong momentum for the platform, as European order volume has surged 57% year on year, while the number of active suppliers worldwide has grown by 50% compared to the same time last year.
These figures help set Alibaba.com up for its next strategic phase: “embedding artificial intelligence at the core of the global trade experience.”
Alibaba.com President Kuo Zhang said: “AI is no longer a supplementary tool at Alibaba.com – it’s evolving into the operating system of our platform.”
AI Mode is powered by Accio, an AI-powered B2B search engine first launched by the retailer in 2024. It can understand product sketches, blueprints, documents, certificates, and factory capabilities to match them with relevant manufacturing capabilities.
It can help find tailored suppliers whose expertise might be invisible under traditional, keyword-driven discovery models.
Alibaba.com said AI Mode stands as a “technological milestone and a strategic enabler, empowering businesses to compete globally, innovate efficiently and source with greater intelligence”.
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