As generative artificial intelligence (AI) continues to gather steam, China’s technology giant Alibaba (NASDAQ: BABAF) has announced plans to introduce new AI tools to assist merchants on its platforms.
Alibaba’s latest play with AI is designed for merchants on Taobao and Tmall, two of its flagship e-commerce platforms. The AI-based tools are expected to improve the state of advertising on the platforms, allowing merchants to create campaigns via text input.
A close look at the plans reveals that the AI tools will be laced with image and video generation capabilities for promotions. While eyed to save merchants a significant amount of funds, the AI tools will improve the productivity and efficiency of merchants on the e-commerce platform.
There is the additional incentive of AI-powered personalized ad campaigns designed to assist merchants in reaching specific categories of online shoppers.
Early users of the tools have praised the tech, with one Wuhan-based user seeing benefits in “reducing costs without sacrificing quality.” However, many merchants have expressed concerns over the long-term impact on purchaser behavior, given the lack of previous studies on AI-based advertising tools on e-commerce.
With a combined strength of eight million merchants on both platforms, the tools are expected to boost generative AI adoption in China.
Alibaba’s latest foray builds upon its previous initiatives with the technology, rolling out two models to rival Meta’s (NASDAQ: META) Llama 2. In late 2023, the company introduced an AI-based video generation tool after bringing the curtain down on its quantum computing arm to focus on generative AI.
“As traditional internet models become increasingly homogenous and face the competitive pressures of saturation, new technologies such as AI are emerging as the new engine of global business growth,” said Alibaba CEO Eddie Wu. “We will calibrate our operations around these two core strategies and reshape our business priorities.”
China’s AI ecosystem
Following the blanket ban on digital currencies in China, local technology firms have thrown their weight behind AI, launching commercial offerings for users.
Alibaba’s competitors, JD.com (NASDAQ: JD), Pinduoduo, and ByteDance, are reportedly working to launch AI tools for their e-commerce platforms. Across the broader tech scene, Baidu (NASDAQ: BAIDF), Tencent (NASDAQ: TCTZF), Huawei, and several local players have rolled out generative AI services for consumers, buoyed by new government regulations supporting their launch.
However, Chinese-based AI developers are expected to abide by strict rules involving
copyright, labeling, data handling, and ensuring that their models do not generate outputs that stand in contrast with national values.
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