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.