Alibaba International has introduced an AI agent for global trade built on its Accio B2B search engine. Called Accio Agent, the brand new tool comes after Accio passed two million users and shifts the platform from a search-and-sourcing tool into an AI-driven ‘trade assistant.’
The release follows research from Alibaba International showing that 40% of small and medium-sized businesses worldwide are actually run by solo entrepreneurs, many working with limited time and resources. The AI is designed to shorten complex sourcing tasks that may normally take days of team effort into what the corporate describes as minutes of automated work.
Automating trade from idea to supplier
Accio Agent claims to give you the option to handle about 70% of the manual steps involved in sourcing products for international trade. It combines product planning, prototyping, compliance checks, and supplier searches into one process.
Users start by entering a product idea. The system generates a development plan that features market data, design details, and regulatory requirements. Once approved, it moves to supplier vetting, bulk request-for-quotations, and side-by-side comparisons, then delivers a production-ready roadmap. With one other click, users can send inquiries to pre-vetted sellers on Alibaba.com, making it easier to select a supplier.
By condensing weeks of research and coordination right into a short workflow, the platform hopes to give small businesses and solo operators the speed and efficiency of larger teams.
Combining AI with trade expertise
The system is trained on one billion product listings and 50 million supplier profiles. It uses language models to assess customer reviews and supplier performance, and might highlight lesser-known capabilities like custom manufacturing. It also applies procurement logic to weigh quality, cost, compliance, and innovation needs.
“Accio Agent is a highly practical tool which solves a mess of problems for businesses sourcing globally,” said Kuo Zhang, Vice President of Alibaba International. “It can handle multiple tasks concurrently, operating like a team of dedicated professionals – sourcing agents, product developers, engineers, and market researchers – all working together to grow your corporation.”
The e-commerce AI market is projected to be price USD 7.68 billion in 2025 and reach USD 37.69 billion by 2032, with a compound annual growth rate of 25.5%, according to research by Coherent. The UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) agency reports that global trade reached a worth of $33 trillion in 2024.
Loyalty programme plans in China
The announcement got here alongside reports that Alibaba Group Holding plans to launch a brand new cross-service membership programme in China. The South China Morning Post reported the scheme would connect services from its e-commerce marketplace Taobao to food delivery, travel booking, and grocery shopping, according to Chinese media and a source aware of the matter.
Members of Taobao could get discounted access to other Alibaba services, including Ele.me, the travel platform Fliggy, and the Freshippo grocery chain. This follows a June restructuring that merged Ele.me and Fliggy into the e-commerce group. In a letter to staff, Alibaba CEO Eddie Wu Yongming described the change as a shift “from an e-commerce platform to a comprehensive consumer platform.”
Sina.com reported that Alibaba also plans to expand its 88VIP membership, which offers perks like free returns. The programme had over 50 million subscribers as of March, making it China’s largest paid e-commerce loyalty scheme.
(Photo by SumUp)
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