Alibaba launched a new AI chatbot assistant service on Thursday, marking its renewed effort to strengthen its position in the consumer AI space dominated by ByteDance and Tencent.
The Chinese e-commerce giant has integrated the chatbot into its Quark app, which initially started as a browser but has since evolved into Alibaba’s flagship consumer platform with enhanced AI-driven features, including advanced search capabilities.
The new chatbot service, available for free, enables users to interact through text or voice for real-time information and assistance. According to Alibaba, the integration aims to make the Quark app a comprehensive AI-powered tool that supports daily user needs.
While Alibaba’s cloud division has primarily focused on enterprise clients with its AI solutions, the latest move represents a strategic shift toward the consumer segment, where the company has struggled to establish a foothold. Its previous AI assistant, Tongyi, released in late 2023, failed to gain significant popularity.
Data from AI product tracker Aicpb.com shows that as of September, Tongyi had only 6.96 million monthly active users, compared to ByteDance’s Doubao with 150 million, DeepSeek with 73.4 million, and Tencent’s offering with 64.2 million users.
Globally, AI assistants continue to gain momentum as tech giants like Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI integrate them into products such as Gemini, Copilot, and ChatGPT. Alibaba’s new chatbot, powered by its latest Qwen3 large language models, promises improved reasoning, comprehension, and task execution.
In addition to the chatbot launch, Alibaba announced that pre-sales for its Quark AI Glasses would begin at midnight on Friday through Tmall, with deliveries starting in December.
Priced at 4,699 yuan ($659.69), the smart glasses—unveiled earlier in July—signify Alibaba’s growing interest in wearable AI technology, competing with global players like Meta Platforms.
