Consumer Electronics Spring Festival CES adds fuel to the fire with AI: Alibaba's upgraded version of intelligent procurement assistant debuts
Alibaba International Station announced that the new feature "Instant Help" of the Intelligent Procurement Assistant will make its debut at this year's CES. It uses AI chatbots to answer users' basic queries and provide real-time insights and resources, unaffected by time zones or languages. Since the launch of the Intelligent Procurement Assistant in September last year, buyers who use the image search function of the assistant have achieved a 28% higher conversion rate compared to buyers who only use text search.
CES, known as the "Spring Festival" of electronic technology, has sparked a wave of artificial intelligence (AI) applications. Alibaba has added fuel to this hot trend.
On Tuesday, January 9th, Alibaba announced that it will launch the latest Smart Assistant feature at the 2024 CES in Las Vegas. This AI-driven global procurement tool is designed to meet the ever-changing needs of both new and experienced business leaders. The new version of Smart Assistant will help entrepreneurs enhance their supply chains and address complex procurement needs and challenges, enabling them to stand out in today's competitive market.
Alibaba released Smart Assistant in September 2023, which upgraded various aspects such as intelligent image search, intelligent demand release, intelligent communication, and intelligent logistics services, to improve procurement efficiency, especially for purchasing Chinese goods. At that time, BABA-SWR expressed the hope that through new technologies, the experience of small and medium-sized enterprises participating in global trade can be simplified and efficiency can be further improved.
Alibaba introduced that the new feature of Smart Assistant, "Instant Help," will make its debut at this CES and will soon be available on Alibaba. This feature uses AI chatbots to answer users' basic queries and provide real-time insights and resources, unaffected by time zones or language barriers. It can provide buyers with basic knowledge and industry insights on various vertical industries and product types, as well as offer tips to help them strengthen communication with suppliers. BABA-SWR believes that it will help ensure that small businesses can also use AI to improve efficiency, engage in smart procurement, keep up with trends, and enhance their competitive advantage.
Since its launch in September 2023, the two initial features of Smart Assistant, upgraded image search and intelligent request for quotation (RFQ), have greatly benefited entrepreneurs using the Alibaba desktop platform. According to internal research conducted by Alibaba since September 2023, buyers using the upgraded image search feature have a 28% higher conversion rate compared to those using traditional text search alone. Compared to the original quotation process, the use of the RFQ tool has increased the number of supplier quotations received by buyers by 29% and the response rate from buyers to supplier quotations by 21%.
Chris Lu, General Manager of Alibaba's North American region, stated that Alibaba developed Smart Assistant based on feedback from buyers and suppliers, and embedded deep industry knowledge into it. He is pleased to showcase at CES how this intelligent assistant can quickly and accurately generate product requests and images that meet buyers' needs. This assistant helps buyers unleash their creativity, improves the matching efficiency between buyers and sellers, and makes procurement easier for everyone.
Lu also said that with advanced AI, we will lead the next generation of procurement and empower small businesses to succeed with the help of our intelligent assistant. Alibaba's preview is just the tip of the iceberg for showcasing the AI trend at this year's CES, and BABA-SWR is just one of the many Chinese companies taking the opportunity to demonstrate their AI capabilities.
The Consumer Technology Association (CTA), the organizer of CES, expects that the CES opening on January 9th will bring together over 4,000 exhibitors from around the world, including 1,114 from China.
Prior to this, Lenovo Group announced that it will showcase more than 40 new devices and solutions based on AI, covering product series such as Yoga, ThinkBook, ThinkPad, ThinkCentre, and Legion. Over 10 AI PCs will be showcased at this CES. Sichuan Changhong's global AI platform for smart home appliances, Changhong "Yunfan," based on large models and set to be released in 2023, is also expected to make an appearance at CES.