Alibaba Group’s (NYSE:BABA) international commerce arm launched the Accio Agent on Thursday to help merchants source products and supplies, aiming to transform online business operations.

Built by Alibaba International Digital Commerce Group (AIDC) on its Qwen model, the AI agent can automate up to 70% of traditionally time-consuming tasks such as product ideation, prototyping, compliance checks, and supplier sourcing.

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The release follows AIDC’s earlier launch of Accio, a B2B search engine now used by over 2 million merchants. It comes as Alibaba races to integrate AI across business units to improve efficiency and lower costs.

Yet the push comes amid intensifying challenges. Like other Chinese tech firms, Alibaba is contending with a domestic “AI talent war,” losing senior researchers to competitors while geopolitical tensions add further pressure.

In response, Alibaba has launched its Star Top Talent Recruitment and Development Programme to attract elite AI researchers, as competition from ByteDance, Tencent, and JD.com escalates.

Despite Huawei sending engineers to assist, the issues left its hardware usable only for inference, highlighting limits in China’s push to replace U.S. technology.

Alibaba stock gained over 44% year-to-date, topping the NYSE Composite Index’s 9% returns as its cloud computing and AI divisions gain traction.

Price Actions: BABA stock is trading lower by 1.05% to $120.99 premarket at last check on Friday.

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