Alibaba to launch AI-powered sourcing engine for B2B e-commerce

Chinese e-commerce powerhouse Alibaba will launch an AI-powered conversational sourcing engine in September, saying the tool will revolutionize the global sourcing process for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), making it more intuitive and highly efficient.

Designed for B2B e-commerce, the sourcing engine synthesizes vast quantities of information, interprets sourcing needs using natural language processing, matches buyers with products and suppliers with unprecedented accuracy, and provides advanced tools for seamless sourcing decision-making, the company said.

According to Alibaba, that approach tackles the inefficiencies of conventional search methodologies which are often time-consuming, manually intensive, and involve laborious data categorization processes merely to locate suitable business partners and products.

“Traditional search engines evaluate web page importance through interlinking, credibility and ad spend. In this AI era, the B2B sourcing engine offers an intuitive and organic way to query, as well as rapidly and accurately match business buyers and business sellers based on their proven track record,” Alibaba President Kuo Zhang said in a release.

The launch follows the company’s move in 2023 to launch a generative artificial intelligence (AI) toolkit, branded “Aidge.” Part of the company’s Alibaba International Digital Commerce Group, that tool has been adopted by approximately 500,000 merchants, with daily API usage reaching 50 million calls. Deployed across over 40 e-commerce scenarios including product listing refinement, marketing, customer service, and automation, AI has significantly boosted content quality, click-through rates, conversion rates, and customer satisfaction, Alibaba says. For example, its features include a virtual try-on tool for apparel and a 24/7 AI customer service capability, which increased AliExpress Choice’s conversion rates from pre-sales inquiries by 29% in June.