Qwen's super model + complete ecosystem. Alibaba aims to create China's leading AI target.

As the novelty of conversations brought by large models gradually fades, the industry has gradually realized that simple "chatting companionship" cannot form a closed - loop business model.

On January 15th, Qianwen App announced its full integration with Alibaba's ecological scenarios such as Taobao Flash Sale, Alipay, Taobao, Fliggy, and Gaode. It has taken the lead globally in realizing AI shopping functions within the AI super - app, including ordering takeaways, buying goods, booking flights, and reserving hotels. Currently, this function is open for testing to all users. The test shows that in the takeaway scenario, users no longer need to jump to other apps and can complete the entire process of recommendation, ordering, and payment within the Qianwen App.

This is another instance of the aggregation of multiple businesses in the Alibaba ecosystem, concentrating efforts to achieve significant goals. Since the launch of Taobao Flash Sale last year, the trend of ecological aggregation in multiple battlefields such as large - scale consumption and AI has become increasingly evident, reflecting Alibaba's determination to form a synergy around its main business and win battles resolutely.

This is not only the combination of Alibaba's "most powerful brain" and its "richest ecosystem" but also a head - start for Chinese technology companies to reshape shopping with AI. Facing the Agent era, there is a huge imaginative space for the synergy between Alibaba's AI and large - scale consumption businesses.

01. Over 400 new functions added: The system - level convergence of Alibaba's super "brain" and "limbs"

Last year, all global AI model companies were anxious about the same issue: although the models were becoming increasingly powerful, they were still far from the physical world of commercialization.

Shifting from "providing information" (Chat) to "solving problems" (Agent) has become a consensus on the development path of global AI super - apps.

Recently, OpenAI and Perplexity are no longer satisfied with being the "air force" for chatting companionship. They are trying to enter the transaction link through functions such as Shopping and research. Google has launched UCP (Universal Commerce Protocol), joining hands with e - commerce and payment players such as Walmart, Shopify, Mastercard, and Stripe to try to connect the entire process of basic e - commerce platforms.

The "most powerful brains" in Silicon Valley are all pointing to AI shopping. In essence, the previous AI super - apps have not fundamentally solved the dilemma that users need to jump between multiple apps for consumption. For example, if a user wants to start an outdoor hiking trip, they need to check travel guides, weather conditions, and required equipment, then jump to e - commerce platforms to select products, compare prices, and place orders, and also need to book flights and hotels.

Today, Qianwen's answer is "Intention equals transaction". The newly updated Qianwen App is driven by a "dual - core":

Brain: The understanding and planning capabilities of Tongyi series of large models are responsible for disassembling complex requirements.

Limbs: The system - level integration of the Alibaba ecosystem allows it to call Gaode for route planning, Fliggy to search for pet - friendly hotels, Taobao/Flash Sale to recommend camping equipment, and Alipay for payment and government services.

In essence, Alibaba has equipped the Qianwen App with the entire ecosystem, enabling the "brain" and "limbs" to achieve system - level convergence. When facing users' complex requirements in various scenarios, they cooperate with each other to disassemble the problems one by one and provide corresponding solutions, truly enabling AI to connect all digital tools and complete real - world tasks.

It is reported that the Qianwen App has launched over 400 functions at once, including ordering takeaways, buying goods, booking flights and hotels, making reports, creating charts, building websites, and calling to reserve restaurants.

At the Yunqi Conference last year, Alibaba CEO Wu Yongming said that we are in the second stage of ASI development - "autonomous action", characterized by "assisting humans". In this stage, AI is no longer limited to language communication but has the ability to act in the real world.

Taking a typical high - complexity scenario of a family trip during the Spring Festival as an example, Qianwen can serve as an AI butler throughout the process. Before departure, it can call Fliggy to search for and recommend suitable flights and hotels according to the user's needs. After arriving at the destination, it can call Gaode to recommend suitable restaurants according to the dining requirements. The AI can even help the user call to reserve the New Year's Eve dinner. On the way, the user can also call Taobao Flash Sale to buy coffee and milk tea.

02. The "weakness" of OpenAI and others and Alibaba's "native moat"

At the beginning of 2026, at an AGI - Next frontier summit, AI experts such as Tang Jie, Yang Zhilin, and Lin Junyang expressed that the Chat paradigm has reached its limit, and the next decade belongs to the Agent era.

However, we can clearly see two different path choices in "enabling AI to have the ability to fulfill contracts".

Overseas leading technology companies choose to form "alliances". The reason is simple: they have the world's most powerful AI models but lack the infrastructure for AI to be implemented in the real world, such as e - commerce, payment, logistics, life services, and customer service. They have to rely on partners to complete the fulfillment, seemingly forming a complete commercial closed - loop.

However, this "stitched" alliance is doomed to face a fragmented user experience - the existence of data privacy walls, the delay in cross - app jumps, and the inconsistency of service standards make these "borrowed limbs" difficult to control smoothly.

In contrast, Alibaba's core advantage lies in its non - replicable "nativism". As one of the very few global players that simultaneously possess a top - tier model and a national - level physical service ecosystem, Qianwen's solution for enabling AI to solve problems is a "game - changer". Taobao is the shelf, Alipay is the wallet, Gaode is the map, and Fliggy is the guide - these business infrastructures that have been accumulated over the years are an integral part of Alibaba's service capabilities.

When the Qianwen App integrates these capabilities, it does not require cross - company coordination and negotiation. The architecture of this "native complete form" is far more efficient than cross - company protocol docking, enabling AI to directly dispatch resources in the physical world with system - level permissions after understanding the user's intention, truly filling in the last piece of the puzzle from "intention to execution".

This is the great shock that the upgrade of the Qianwen App has brought to the industry. "Self - owned infrastructure" will become a moat that is more difficult to cross than the algorithm itself.

03. AI starts to reshape shopping: The imaginative space from token to take rate is huge

We must admit that today, whether it is ChatGPT, Gemini, or the Qianwen App, the reshaping of shopping and service - handling scenarios by AI super - apps is just the beginning. Product refinement takes time, and there is still a long way to go for them to grow into super Agents.

From the perspective of an ordinary user, the value of super AI apps at this stage does not lie in "replacing" existing apps but in providing a brand - new solution for complex cross - scenario requirements or when multiple decisions are needed.

Obviously, the advantage of current AI super - apps over single vertical apps lies in understanding the user's intention, invoking ecological capabilities, and providing a screened and directly executable solution.

However, the market seems to have gone wild. Recently, AI applications have performed well in the capital market, especially AI marketing and AI e - commerce assets. The market believes that we may be standing at the threshold of the transition from SEO (traditional search engine optimization) to GEO (Generative Engine Optimization).

To put it simply:

In the old era (traditional search logic): Merchants compete for keywords, and users are trapped in advertising and SEO spam. The logic is "the one who bids higher gets the front position".

In the new era (Agent logic): When the super AI app becomes the entry point, the traffic distribution logic changes to the "optimal match" between people and goods. The commercial value shifts from "selling advertising space" to "selling precise decisions".

Wu Jia, the president of Qianwen's C - end business group, also said that the Qianwen App not only relies on world knowledge but also uses Alibaba's unique transaction and service data to enhance the model and distinguish truth from falsehood. This ensures that the shopping function of the Qianwen App remains objective and accurate for all types of users and in various scenarios.

The key to the future form of shopping is who can help users complete things the fastest, and that will be the new "operating system". As the Qianwen App becomes more and more familiar with your shopping habits through conversations, its recommendations become more accurate, and you become more reliant on it, resulting in richer data. In the future, this is not just about shopping but about building a "digital twin" butler that understands your mind and can run errands for you.

This is the ultimate barrier for AI e - commerce, truly converting tokens into the take rate of transactions.

The AI battlefield in 2026 is destined to be fiery. The "model war" focused on parameters has passed the mid - stage, and the "scenario war" focused on implementation has just begun. The integration of the Qianwen App with the Alibaba ecosystem has enabled AI to have the ability to "handle affairs" in the physical world for the first time. This is not only a reshaping of AI shopping but also a preview of the future digital lifestyle.