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Alibaba Group Holding is planning to ditch the traditional search bar in favour of a conversational AI experience for its online shopping apps
Users of the company's flagship AI assistant, Qwen, will soon be able to find and buy items on Taobao and Tmall just by talking to the app.
According to South China Morning Post, the integration aims to streamline product discovery, price comparisons, and purchases through simple text or voice commands.
This move is part of a broader push to turn AI models into a primary gateway for daily services, including food delivery and travel booking.
By reducing the need for repeated clicks across multiple apps, Alibaba hopes to create a "simpler, cleaner" ecosystem
Other global tech giants are experimenting with this too.
Analysts at SWS Research noted that the shift towards "conversational shopping" allows consumers to describe their needs in plain language while the AI handles the heavy lifting.
This strategy mirrors trends in the US, where Amazon's Rufus AI assistant helped drive USD12 billion (RM47.18 billion) in annualised sales by the end of 2025
Similarly, OpenAI and Google partnered with platforms like Shopify and Etsy.
These partnerships allow users to search for and purchase items directly within chatbot interfaces without ever leaving the app.
Meanwhile, Qwen expanded its reach through an external partnership with China Eastern Airlines, allowing users to manage flight bookings, seat selections, and check-ins via a single natural-language chat interface.
