The Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba is making a fresh push into the consumer AI space, launching a new chatbot assistant service on Thursday. The move is a clear attempt to take on dominant rivals like ByteDance and Tencent, who have so far left Alibaba in the dust.
The new AI assistant is being integrated into Alibaba’s Quark app. This platform started as a simple web browser but has since been transformed into the company’s flagship consumer app. The new, free service will let users have conversations with a chatbot via text or voice, and will provide real-time information and other services.
This is a major strategic shift for Alibaba, which has so far focused its AI efforts on its business customers through its cloud division. The company’s previous attempt at a consumer AI, the Tongyi app, failed to gain much traction, with its user numbers paling in comparison to the massive audiences of ByteDance’s Doubao and other popular chatbots.
Powered by Alibaba’s latest and most advanced AI models, the new Quark assistant promises to be much more capable. The launch shows that Alibaba is not giving up on the consumer AI race and is determined to build a product that can compete with the best. In another AI-related move, Alibaba also announced that its new smart glasses, which were unveiled in July, will go on sale this Friday.
