Alipay and Alibaba Unveil China’s First AI Commerce Protocol — Redefining In-Chat Shopping
In a bold leap toward the future of digital commerce, Alipay has launched China’s first open Agentic Commerce Trust Protocol — a framework that empowers AI assistants to act on users’ behalf and complete transactions directly inside conversational interfaces like Alibaba’s Qwen AI app. This marks a fundamental shift in how users shop, pay, and interact with services online — moving from browsing and clicking to talking and doing. (PaySpace Magazine)
AI Moves From Chatting to Transacting
Imagine telling an AI “Order me a matcha latte from a nearby café” — and it not only finds the drink but compares prices, applies promotions, and checks out with your payment — all without leaving the chat. That is exactly what Alipay’s new protocol enables. Under this framework:
- Qwen App has become the first platform to adopt the protocol, integrating with Taobao Instant Commerce and Alipay AI-enabled payments to complete purchases within chatbot dialogs. (PaySpace Magazine)
- Smart agents can connect to multiple services — from food delivery and travel booking to commerce platforms — using a common technical language, eliminating the need for multiple API integrations. (PaySpace Magazine)
- Two payment modes are supported: instant checkout for quick purchases and delegated authorization, where predefined criteria allow AI to act autonomously on your behalf. (PaySpace Magazine)
This innovation goes beyond traditional e-commerce plugins — it’s an open standard designed to be adopted across platforms, devices, and third-party AI agents. (PaySpace Magazine)
Qwen App: The AI That Gets Things Done
Alibaba has been aggressively expanding Qwen App from a conversational assistant into a task-execution engine. Instead of merely answering questions, the app can now:
- Order food and apply discounts
- Complete in-chat payments
- Book travel and compare options
- Handle multi-step tasks like planning itineraries — all from a single prompt. (PYMNTS.com)
This reflects a broader trend across tech giants — from OpenAI’s Instant Checkout to agentic AI integrations in search and ecommerce — toward tools that act on behalf of users rather than just inform. (Barron’s)
Alibaba’s ecosystem — including Taobao, Fliggy, and Amap — is now tightly interconnected through this agentic AI strategy, allowing users to traverse commerce, payments, and services without traditional app switching. (Yicai Global)
Why This Matters: A New Commerce Paradigm
Here’s why the launch of this protocol is significant:
- Consumer Convenience: AI can handle complex tasks with simple language — ordering food, booking flights, or shopping without clicking through multiple screens. (PYMNTS.com)
- Developer Efficiency: A unified protocol reduces integration complexity for merchants and service providers. (PaySpace Magazine)
- Security Standards: Built-in trust and security mechanisms help maintain safe transactions across services. (PaySpace Magazine)
- Competitive Edge: Alibaba and Alipay are reinforcing their positions in the global AI race, especially against rivals like Tencent and ByteDance, and in line with innovations from U.S. tech firms. (Digital Commerce 360)
With AI now able to comprehend, decide, and act, we’re witnessing a fundamental transformation in how digital services are consumed and executed.
Glossary: Key Terms Explained
Agentic Commerce: AI systems capable of performing actions on behalf of humans — not just generating responses, but executing tasks end-to-end.
Protocol: A set of rules and standards that enable different software systems and platforms to communicate and work together efficiently.
Instant Commerce: A service model that enables fast, real-time purchases — often with streamlined checkout and delivery.
Delegated Authorization: A mode where users set preferences and spending criteria, allowing an AI to complete approved tasks autonomously.
🔗 Source: Tech in Asia — Alipay launches AI commerce protocol with Qwen in-chat orders (Original article) ➡️ https://www.techinasia.com/news/alipay-launches-ai-commerce-protocol-with-qwen-in-chat-orders
