Alibaba Launches AI-Driven Search Engine Accio for Small Businesses
Brief news summary
Alibaba has unveiled Accio, an AI-driven search engine aimed at enhancing how small businesses in Europe and the Americas source supplies. Accio transforms B2B sourcing by supporting both text and image searches, offering insights into product trends and profitability. It operates in multiple languages, including English, German, French, Portuguese, and Spanish, leveraging Alibaba's Tongyi Qianwen language model. By analyzing data from 50 million businesses and additional sources, Accio optimizes matchmaking between buyers and sellers. Launched on July 31 by Alibaba International Digital Commerce Group, Accio is a "conversational sourcing engine," focused on improving buyer-seller interactions beyond traditional web metrics, as highlighted by Kuo Zhang, president of Alibaba.com. As part of its global reach, Alibaba employs generative AI for translation, marketing content, merchandise selection, and customer management, resulting in a 30% increase in merchant orders through enhanced multilingual communication. Moreover, Alibaba has introduced over 100 open-source AI models and developed text-to-video technology, underscoring its dedication to integrating AI in digital commerce. This strategy equips small and medium-sized businesses with sophisticated tools for customer engagement and content creation in online retail and marketing.Alibaba has reportedly launched an AI-driven search engine, Accio, aimed at aiding small businesses in Europe and the Americas with procurement needs. According to a CNBC report on Nov. 12, Accio can identify wholesale products based on text or image inputs and offers insights into a product's consumer popularity and expected profitability. Alibaba hasn't responded to PYMNTS' request for comments. The initial version of Accio is accessible online and supports languages including English, German, French, Portuguese, and Spanish.
It uses Alibaba’s Tongyi Qianwen large language model and leverages data from 50 million businesses on Alibaba International's platform alongside publicly available information. In a press release on July 31, Alibaba International Digital Commerce Group announced its intent to launch an AI-powered "conversational sourcing engine" targeting the global B2B sourcing needs of small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs). "Traditional search engines rank web pages based on interlinking, credibility, and ad spend, " stated Kuo Zhang, president of Alibaba. com. "In this AI era, our B2B sourcing engine provides a straightforward and organic way to query and efficiently connects business buyers and sellers according to their proven records. " During July, it was noted that Alibaba Group is leveraging generative AI to bolster its efforts to expand internationally, using the technology for functions such as translations for platform sellers, creating marketing materials, selecting products, engaging with customers, negotiating refunds, and resolving disputes over bank charges. Internal tests indicated that AI-assisted communication tools helped increase merchant orders by 30%. In September, PYMNTS reported that Alibaba released over 100 open-source AI models and text-to-video technology, emphasizing its commitment to AI in digital commerce. This development could democratize access to advanced AI resources, particularly benefiting SMBs by offering new tools for customer engagement and content creation in online retail and marketing.
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Alibaba Launches AI-Driven Search Engine Accio for Small Businesses
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