Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba is preparing to revamp its flagship AI mobile app in the coming months to bring it closer to OpenAI’s ChatGPT. This is a key step in a broader effort to catch up with rivals and ultimately generate revenue from individual users.
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The company plans to first update its iOS and Android Tongyi apps and rename them Qwen, after the famous AI model, according to people familiar with the matter.
Next, Alibaba plans to gradually add AI agent functionality to support purchases on platforms such as major marketplace Taobao, said the people, who requested anonymity to discuss private discussions.
The ultimate goal is to turn Qwen into a fully functional AI agent, a central goal for the U.S. and Chinese industries, according to sources. Alibaba plans to eventually expand the service globally with an international version, the people said.
The company has reportedly assigned more than 100 developers from various fields to the project in recent months as part of additional AI investments announced by CEO Eddie Wu in September.
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The Qwen makeover represents one of Alibaba’s biggest efforts to date to generate revenue from consumer services. The Chinese e-commerce giant joins rivals such as startups Minimax and ByteDance in launching increasingly sophisticated AI models, all of which aim to outperform industry leaders such as OpenAI and DeepSeek. In Hong Kong, Alibaba shares rose more than 3%, paring earlier losses.
However, for many companies, monetization models remain primarily focused on serving companies with greater financial resources rather than Chinese consumers, who tend to be less likely to pay for online services.
In Alibaba’s case, Kwen lags behind ByteDance’s Doubao and Tencent Holdings’ Yuanbao in popularity among users. By incorporating shopping features, Alibaba may be trying to leverage its traditional strengths in e-commerce to attract users.
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In addition to the Tongyi consumer app, Alibaba also operates iOS and Android versions of Qwen Chat, although the latter has fewer features. The idea is to unify the user look and experience with the Qwen brand and make it the company’s primary application, officials said.
Officials say the revamped Qwen app will remain free for now. But building a user base will help Alibaba charge more for consumer services in the future. In addition to revenue, creating a single point of access for mobile users will also strengthen the company’s brand in an already saturated market.
From Huawei to Tencent, China’s biggest technology companies are investing unprecedented amounts in artificial intelligence. They join massive spending by American companies like OpenAI and Meta to develop and popularize technologies that have the potential to transform economies and change the world’s geopolitical balance.
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In September, Eddie Wu outlined plans to launch new “full stack” AI models and technologies, reflecting Alibaba’s ambitions to develop both the services and the infrastructure, such as chips, that underpins the technology.
Alibaba has previously tried to offer its AI capabilities to consumers. Earlier this year, the company revamped its search app Quark with plans to turn it into an all-in-one AI assistant. Users can continue to use the application.
In the most recent quarter, Alibaba reported triple-digit growth in AI-related products. The cloud division also recorded higher-than-expected sales and became the fastest growing division within the group.
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