Alibaba.com, Alibaba Group Holding’s international wholesale marketplace, is targeting 100% AI adoption among its merchants by the close of 2025. This initiative aligns with the company’s broader strategy to expand its global reach and enhance its cross-border e-commerce operations.
Alibaba.com president Zhang Kuo discusses the platform’s artificial intelligence initiative at the South China Morning Post offices in Causeway Bay. Photo: Jonathan Wong
Zhang Kuo, president of Alibaba.com, told the South China Morning Post that the AI initiative is designed to assist sellers in marketing, product management, customer engagement, and risk control. Alibaba owns the Post.
According to Zhang, who was interviewed on Monday, more than half of the approximate 200,000 merchants already use these AI applications on a weekly basis. The AI tools, introduced in early 2024, are designed to streamline various aspects of their business operations.
“I believe that by the end of this year, [the adoption rate] should be 100 per cent,” Zhang said. “In the end, when they feel that these parts are easier to manage and [the AI agents] provide better performance … those parts should be taken care of by AI.”
“We have confidence in that,” he added.
This push for widespread AI integration reflects Hangzhou-based Alibaba’s larger focus on cloud computing and AI. The company has committed to investing at least 380 billion yuan (US$52 billion) to enhance its infrastructure related to these technologies over the next three years. This investment represents the largest-ever computing project financed by a single private business in China.
