Alibaba Launches AI Search Engine for Small Businesses, Boosting Purchase Intent
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Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has unveiled an AI-powered search engine designed to help small businesses in Europe and the Americas source supplies, reports CNBC. The tool, called Accio, leverages generative AI technology similar to ChatGPT to enhance the product discovery and procurement process.
Alibaba claims that initial tests showed businesses using Accio experienced a 40% increase in purchase intent compared to traditional search engines.
Accio, named after the summoning spell in the Harry Potter series, is currently web-based and supports English, German, French, Portuguese, and Spanish. It allows businesses to find wholesale products using text or image prompts, providing analysis on product popularity and projected profit.
The tool leverages generative AI from Alibaba's Tongyi Qianwen large language model, incorporating data from 50 million businesses on Alibaba International's platform and publicly available industry information. It also incorporates 1 billion product listings and documents covering industries across more than 100 markets from Alibaba.com, the company's business-to-business platform.
Alibaba International, which has seen rapid growth in recent years, identified European and North American businesses as its largest buyer group. The company launched an updated version of its AI translation tool in October, claiming superior translation capabilities compared to Google, DeepL, and ChatGPT.
While Alibaba's international business is growing, its domestic e-commerce platforms Taobao and Tmall remain its primary revenue generators. In August 2023, Alibaba management told investors that the Taobao app has "the greatest potential to become a one-stop smart portal for life and consumption enabled by AI."
The use of AI in e-commerce is increasing. A recent survey by Bain & Company found that over half of the 500 merchants selling on Chinese platforms like Alibaba and JD.com used generative AI-enabled tools during the recent Singles Day shopping festival. These tools, including AI for customer service and content generation, were reported to have a "high positive impact" on improving productivity.
Alibaba is scheduled to report its quarterly results on Friday.