Alibaba's AI app now lets users book travel, order food
What's the story
Alibaba has given its Qwen artificial intelligence (AI) app a major upgrade. The new features, which are currently being tested publicly in China, allow users to perform tasks like ordering food delivery and booking travel within the AI chat interface. This means you won't have to switch between different apps for these services anymore.
Strategic pivot
A shift toward consumer-facing AI
The upgrade comes two months after Alibaba's major update to the Qwen App, marking a strategic pivot into consumer-facing AI. This is an area where the company has been lagging behind domestic rivals ByteDance and Tencent. Previously, Alibaba had focused mainly on enterprise AI services through its cloud business. "What we are launching today represents a shift from models that understand to systems that act, deeply connected to real-world services," said Wu Jia, Vice President of Alibaba Group.
Feature integration
Qwen app integrates Alibaba's core services
The upgraded Qwen app integrates core Alibaba ecosystem services like Taobao, Alipay, Fliggy, and Amap into a single AI interface. This means you can now access these services from within the app itself. For example, by integrating Alipay with the Qwen app, users can authorize and complete transactions without leaving the conversation. The AI payment feature currently supports instant commerce orders and will expand to additional services over time.
Advanced capabilities
A new 'Task Assistant' feature
Along with the integration of core services, Alibaba has also introduced a "Task Assistant" feature in invite-only beta. This advanced capability can make real phone calls to restaurants, process up to 100 documents at once and plan multi-stop travel itineraries. Since its public beta launch on November 17, Qwen App has already crossed over 100 million monthly active users within two months.