Chinese tech giants enter the 'agentic commerce' race as AI reshapes super apps

China's exertion giants are entering a caller signifier of the artificial quality contention called 'agentic commerce,' arsenic firms specified arsenic Alibaba and ByteDance contention to crook chatbots into full-service buying and outgo tools.

Alibaba past week updated its Qwen AI chatbot, allowing users to implicit transactions straight wrong the interface, including ordering nutrient and booking aerial tickets.

The upgrade connects Qwen to Alibaba's broader e-commerce ecosystem, allowing users to comparison tailored merchandise recommendations from platforms specified arsenic Taobao oregon its question tract Fliggy, earlier yet completing payments done Alipay, each without leaving the chatbot.

Previously, Qwen could make recommendations based connected user-generated prompts, but users inactive had to manually navigate aggregate platforms to marque purchases.

The update reflects a broader displacement among immoderate planetary artificial quality firms from a absorption connected foundational AI models to "agentic AI", which performs tasks connected behalf of users with constricted supervision.

"The agentic translation of commercialized services enables the maximal integration of idiosyncratic services [and] enhances idiosyncratic stickiness," Shaochen Wang, a probe expert astatine Counterpoint Research, referring to stronger semipermanent idiosyncratic engagement.

That allows companies to physique a sustainable competitory advantage, often called a concern moat, which helps support profits from competitors, helium added.

While commercialized applications for agentic AI are expected to scope from autonomous driving to cybersecurity, e-commerce is emerging arsenic 1 of its earliest and astir pervasive usage cases, with outgo and tech giants successful the U.S. besides rolling retired their archetypal iterations successful caller months.

Within China, Alibaba is well-positioned to beryllium a pioneer successful agentic commerce due to its advanced ample connection exemplary capabilities and its extensive e-commerce web covering clothing, food, housing, and transportation, Wang said.

Alibaba's strategy could assistance it vie with rival ace apps specified arsenic Tencent's WeChat — wide regarded arsenic China's starring 'super app' — which combines messaging, payments, e-commerce and different services into a azygous level utilized by implicit 1 cardinal users.

Other Chinese firms are besides moving quickly.

ByteDance successful December upgraded its fashionable Doubao AI chatbot to autonomously grip tasks specified arsenic summons bookings done integrations with e-commerce features connected Douyin, the Chinese mentation of TikTok.

The upgraded Doubao exemplary was introduced connected a prototype smartphone developed by ZTE Corp arsenic a broad AI assistant susceptible of performing tasks crossed a user's mobile device. However, some of Doubao's planned features were aboriginal scaled back aft rivals raised privateness and information concerns.

Meanwhile, Tencent President Martin Lau said during the company's May 2025 net call that AI agents could go halfway components of the WeChat ecosystem. 

"AI agents volition beryllium foundational to the improvement of ace apps, with occurrence depending connected heavy integration crossed payments, logistics, and societal engagement," Charlie Dai, VP and main expert astatine Forrester, told CNBC.

While Chinese firms similar Alibaba, Tencent and ByteDance volition vie to embed agents crossed their platforms, they each payment from integrated ecosystems, affluent behavioral data, and user familiarity with ace apps, said Dai.

Western companies, portion starring successful foundational AI models and planetary reach, look much fragmented information and stricter privateness regulations, slowing cross-service integration, helium added.

U.S. players pursuing agentic commerce see OpenAI, Perplexity, and Amazon. Google is besides exploring ways to presumption itself arsenic a "matchmaker" betwixt merchants, consumers and AI agents.

"China volition prioritize home integration and strategical enlargement successful selected regions, portion U.S. firms absorption connected planetary scalability and governance," Dai noted.

Approximately fractional of each consumers already usage AI erstwhile searching online, according to a 2025 McKinsey study.

The study estimated that AI agents could make much than $1 trillion successful economical worth for U.S. businesses by 2030 by streamlining important yet regular steps successful user decision-making.