Bei der 618-Shoppingaktion im Zeitalter der KI hat Alibaba Mama das Wachstum neu definiert und sich für die Unterstützung von etablierten und neuen Unternehmen entschieden.

The general trend of AI is reshaping the underlying logic of all industries.

In the cut - throat business world, stagnation in innovation often comes with the risk of being eliminated.

This sense of crisis is even more palpable in the fast - paced e - commerce industry. "What can AI bring to e - commerce?" has become a collective puzzle for the entire industry.

There are many speculations, but few definite answers. In February this year, Alimama put forward the concept of "Winning with AI for High - quality Growth" at its annual kick - off event, elevating AI - driven strategies to a strategic level and clearly defining three major directions: "Technological progress, Brand innovation, and Business optimization". Then, on March 20th, Alimama released its AI - powered full - link business efficiency improvement path for the first time, marking the completion of its AI infrastructure layout at the technical level.

On April 24th, Alimama held the "Alimama Quality - Driven 618 Growth Strategy Conference" in Shanghai, advocating "AI - Driven Quality Victory in 618". Moreover, in the face of the mid - year e - commerce exam of 618, Alimama provided merchants with a solid "Quality - Driven 618 Business Guide". This move can be regarded as a practical AI exercise for Alimama to deploy its annual strategic basic capabilities deeper into the industry, and also its first attempt to provide a new growth engine for merchants after improving its AI infrastructure from a platform perspective.

01. What kind of AI - driven approach does e - commerce need?

What kind of AI does e - commerce really need?

Undeniably, in line with the macro - economy, business growth is shifting from "quantity" expansion to a greater emphasis on "quality" improvement. Merchants no longer just pursue "faster" but must aim for "better" to achieve higher - quality business growth and gain deeper, broader, and more long - term consumer trust.

This is why Alimama emphasizes "AI - driven" and "high - quality growth" at this moment. As a new form of productivity, AI is the key factor in achieving "high - quality growth".

Due to the widespread application of AIGC, many merchants habitually think that Alimama's AI capabilities mainly focus on this area.

However, after years of in - depth development, Taobao and Alimama have built an AIGX technology system that suits the platform's ecosystem and their own capabilities, including technologies such as AIGB intelligent bidding, AIGC creativity, and AIGE simulated advertising environment, and fully integrated them into every aspect of merchants' business operations.

Data from Alimama's conference shows that after the launch of the "AI - Powered Effect Optimization" function for full - site promotion, the ROI has been stably delivered with a significant 16% increase. The newly launched AIGC image - to - video function at the beginning of the year has helped merchants increase their CTR (Click - Through Rate) by 65%. Regarding the long - standing problem of abnormal instant refund orders that have troubled merchants, Alimama has also used AI to accurately identify them and provided refund of advertising fees for all merchants, effectively reducing their business costs.

From pre - campaign insights to in - campaign optimization and post - campaign diagnosis, from improving business efficiency to optimizing the business environment and empowering brand innovation, Alimama's AI capabilities have evolved from being an "auxiliary tool" to a "business infrastructure".

02. How does AI's full - link approach reshape the business logic for "Quality Victory"?

After solving the problem of "what kind of AI is needed", merchants are actually faced with a more practical and complex problem: "how to use AI".

This is not simply about accessing a single tool. In today's highly competitive e - commerce environment, what merchants urgently need is not just lower - cost exposure and faster advertising responses, but how to truly integrate AI into the entire business process and achieve practical business growth.

At the conference on April 24th, Shu Yang, the General Manager of Alimama's Commercial Operation Center, said: "During this 618, Alimama will continue to innovate its AI capabilities, support high - quality and new merchants, and help merchants achieve quality victory in 618 with three major benefits: Comprehensive efficiency improvement in AIGX capabilities delivery, Integrated planting and searching to boost overall brand power, and Up to 3 billion RMB in red envelopes, an unprecedented high - level investment."

Shu Yang, the General Manager of Alimama's Commercial Operation Center, announced the three major benefits of Alimama's 618 in 2025.

Behind the slogans and benefits, AI is the method and engine, but the key lies in building the underlying capabilities for sustainable victory.

For a wider range of merchants, the quality - driven engine is ready to go. During this year's 618, Alimama will provide merchants with structural capability upgrades in multiple dimensions such as products, brands, and content to achieve quality victory.

In the product dimension, the highly - anticipated full - site promotion will be upgraded to "Full - Site Product Promotion" in May by integrating capabilities from multiple scenarios such as product operation and full - store intelligent investment. When promoting high - quality products at different stages, merchants no longer need to make intuitive and hasty advertising decisions. Instead, they can rely on AI to provide scientific decision - making support at every stage of "selection, promotion, and cultivation". Especially for the entire life cycle of products, such as high - quality new products, potential products, and potential best - sellers, targeted product capabilities are provided to ensure that high - quality supplies are not overlooked and real consumer needs are met, enabling new products to quickly reach sales of over 100 units, potential products to achieve a leap in GMV, and potential best - sellers to gain more traffic.

In terms of target audiences and keywords, the Boundless version of Alimama's Wanxiangtai has also been comprehensively upgraded in terms of targeting TA audiences and product follow - up investment capabilities, helping merchants break through the boundaries of people and keywords more accurately.

The comprehensive upgrade of targeting TA audiences helps merchants break through the knowledge barriers of traditional audience strategies. Merchants do not need to have complex data analysis capabilities. They only need to input a sentence like "I want audiences with a high conversion rate" or "I want to find users interested in new products", and the system can automatically generate an intelligent audience strategy package composed of "seeds + expansion + exclusion", evolving from "vague intentions" to "clear decisions" and significantly improving decision - making efficiency and accuracy. With the "three - level leap" formed by audience calibration and audience competition, merchants can truly target their efforts effectively.

More importantly, Alimama is pushing AI to the core of business operations, shifting from the more front - end marketing stage to the deeper brand - building stage. During this year's 618, Alimama will release the benefit of Integrated planting and searching to boost overall brand power - a real "business foundation" that can withstand market cycles, helping to build long - term relationships and mental imprints with consumers.

With the support of AI capabilities, brand building has become more visible. This not only helps merchants understand "where the brand should make its voice heard", "where to establish connections", and "where to influence decisions", but also closely links brand power with actual business conversion, filling the gap in long - term business awareness.

Especially as Taobao is the core platform for brand operations, it is more necessary to leverage AI to provide a more scientific and comprehensive reference system for brand growth. Alimama proposes that consumers' active searches and repeat purchases of a brand are the primary indicators for measuring brand power, and has released the "Brand New Power - WIN IN NEW Integrated Planting and Searching" metric system to more objectively and systematically observe the overall brand growth status from a holistic perspective. From outside Taobao to inside Taobao, through the in - depth linkage of products such as search splash screens, special shows, and super brand pages, a scientific path for AI - driven overall brand mental growth is created.

During this 618, Alimama will further enhance its "Brand New Power" capabilities, indicating that it will collaborate with leading customers in multiple industries to jointly promote brand growth. From pre - campaign insights to conversion and post - campaign evaluation in a full - link closed - loop, it provides a measurable and specific path for brand operations, making it possible to determine the path for improving brand power, the ultimate indicator.

"In the digital age, brand value must be quantifiable, traceable, and intervenable." Philip Kotler's judgment in "Marketing 4.0" has finally come true in the AI era. In this sense, Alimama has provided merchants with a "business map" that can withstand market cycles, bringing certainty to business in an uncertain era.

03. The curtain of 618 is rising, a new battlefield for quality victory

In the era of stock competition, the power in the supply - demand relationship has shifted towards consumers. Low prices, speed, and quantity are no longer the only advantages. Consumers are more concerned about experience and value recognition. Just as the era of feature phones ended, even with lower prices and more choices, it was impossible to reverse the trend of smartphones becoming the mainstream.

A fundamental change in business logic has occurred. In the new era, it is necessary to break free from old habits. This applies not only to business operation logic but also to the attitude towards AI.

AI is not just a new capability but also a new foundation for business. In an era where the topic of AI application has become widespread, Alimama has deeply integrated AI into every decision, every investment, every piece of content, and every new product launch of merchants through systematic construction and full - link practical operations, forming a self - driving growth system. This makes "AI - driven growth" no longer just a concept but a measurable, replicable, and sustainable engine for brand quality victory.

In addition to the upgrade in capabilities, to further support merchants' growth, Alimama will invest 3 billion RMB in red envelope subsidies during this year's 618, far exceeding the scale of previous 618 events. The support direction is consistent with Taotian Group's overall strategic direction since the end of last year, always focusing on supporting high - quality and new merchants.

Shu Yang, the General Manager of Alimama's Commercial Operation Center

Compared with previous 618 events, the scale of this year's support is unprecedented. Considering Alimama's consistent attitude, these measures not only provide short - term benefits for merchants but also guide the industry to recognize the long - term value of AI: it is not a weapon for the traffic war but a key to reshape merchants' business processes.

Alimama's exploration provides a reference model for the AI - powered e - commerce era. Imagine that vague consumer trends can be broken down into actionable sub - scenarios; the traditional long - cycle of "research - decision - execution" is evolving into a dynamic game that can be adjusted in sync with changes in consumer behavior; the dominance in product categories is shifting from single - function innovation to the standardization of demand scenarios... When AI penetrates deeper into business operations, what changes is not only efficiency but also the entire industry's value coordinate system.

Now, an engine capable of bringing quality victory to merchants has emerged. Just before the start of the 618 promotion, in the face of a re - defined battlefield, only the brave who adapt to the rules and engage in it earlier may be able to catch this growth express train to the future.

After all, "The victory of disruptive technologies has never been about replacing the old, but about re - defining the battlefield."