Alibaba.com to launch AI-speech tool to boost e-commerce

Alibaba.com is launching an AI-driven engine that uses speech to help small business owners tackle sourcing, supplier and shipping needs through the e-commerce platform’s digital marketplace. [caption id="attachment_57143567" align="alignright" width="300"] (Photo/Canva)[/caption] The sourcing engine, announced today, is set to launch in September and relies on AI to filter large amounts of information within seconds, reducing wait time and offering more solutions for shipping needs, an Alibaba.com spokesperson told Air Cargo Next . The as-yet-unnamed AI tool responds to prompts via speech. “It 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,” according to a release today from the B2B e-commerce giant. Listen here to a recent interview on how Alibaba.com is leveraging AI. The conversational sourcing engine “has been fine-tuned using over 1 billion product listings and industry-specific knowledge compiled from Alibaba platforms and beyond,” the spokesperson said. The product’s main function is to give s mall and medium-sized businesses a leg up on global trade by offering services that match the needs of the business, reducing costs and wait times, the spokesperson said. With AI, Alibaba.com is "offering the tools to our [small and medium-sized business] customers to seamlessly integrate their data elements when they are sourcing from our platform,” Yikun Shao , head of North America B2B supply chain at Alibaba.com, previously told Air Cargo Next . “They can feed the data necessary for shipping purposes as well,” he said. ”And we believe that approach will reduce the chance of human errors and will significantly increase the efficiency of those processes. [Small businesses] don't necessarily have all the resources to deploy when it comes to managing their supply chains or sourcing from overseas. That's why we are providing them with a platform, tools and solutions so that they can manage all those aspects more seamlessly and efficiently." The conversational AI tool is capable of: Intuitive, predictive and conversational speech; Reconstruction of information; and Closing the loop or securing business deals through the conversational search function. Expanding AI capabilities A demo shared with Air Cargo Next by Alibaba.com shows that the function operates similarly to Apple ’s Siri, Amazon ’s Alexa or supply chain start-up aiOla ’s speech functions, albeit for e-commerce businesses operating within a digital marketplace. Alibaba.com did not disclose to Air Cargo Next how many languages it can interpret or its level of accuracy by publishing time. “Traditional search engines evaluate web page importance through interlinking, credibility and ad spend,” Kuo Zhang , president of Alibaba.com, said in the release. “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.” With AI as a driving force in supply chain optimization , Alibaba International formed an AI business team in April 2023 to grow its line of AI-powered tools, the spokesperson said. In November 2023, Alibaba International Digital Commerce Group established a generative AI toolkit, branded “Aidge,” which has been adopted by approximately 500,000 merchants, with daily API usage reaching 50 million calls, according to the release.

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