Prime Highlights:
- Alibaba, Tencent, and ByteDance are upgrading their super apps to let users shop, book services, and make payments without leaving the platform.
- These upgrades aim to improve user convenience, engagement, and loyalty, giving companies a strong competitive edge.
Key Facts:
- Alibaba connects its Qwen platform with Taobao, Fliggy, and Alipay, allowing users to complete purchases and bookings seamlessly.
- Tencent plans to integrate social features, payments, delivery, and other services into WeChat to create a fully connected platform.
Background:
Chinese technology majors are accelerating their push into a new phase of artificial intelligence known as “agentic commerce,” as companies race to turn AI chatbots into end-to-end platforms for shopping, payments and services.
Alibaba has taken a major step in this direction with a recent upgrade to its Qwen AI chatbot. By connecting Qwen with Alibaba’s wider ecosystem, such as Taobao for e-commerce, Fliggy for travel and Alipay for payments, the company enables users to search, compare and purchase without switching apps.
Earlier versions of Qwen could only give recommendations, so users still had to move between different platforms to make purchases. The latest upgrade allows the system to complete tasks for users, making the process much easier and more seamless.
Analysts say this change could make users more engaged and loyal. According to Counterpoint Research, offering more services in one place helps companies keep users within their platform and stay ahead of competitors.
E-commerce is becoming one of the first areas where these advanced systems are widely used, even as other applications like self-driving cars and cybersecurity continue to grow. In China, Alibaba is well-positioned thanks to its wide range of services, from shopping and food to travel and transportation.
Competition, however, is intensifying. Tencent’s WeChat, China’s most widely used super app, is also preparing for a future shaped by AI agents. Tencent President Martin Lau said that WeChat plans to bring together social features, payments, delivery, and other services in one platform.
ByteDance is moving quickly as well. In December, the company enhanced its Doubao chatbot to handle tasks such as ticket bookings through integrations with Douyin’s e-commerce features. Some advanced functions were later scaled back following concerns over privacy and data security raised by competitors.
U.S. companies such as OpenAI, Amazon, Perplexity and Google are also exploring agentic commerce, though with a greater focus on global scalability and governance
With studies showing that around half of consumers already use AI when searching online, analysts expect AI agents to unlock substantial economic value in the coming years, reshaping how consumers discover, decide and transact across digital platforms.
