Alibaba Launches New Search Engine Accio AI Tool for Small Businesses

Eddie Wu, Alibaba Group CEO

Alibaba has introduced a new AI-powered search engine, Accio, aimed at enhancing supply sourcing for small businesses across Europe and the Americas. Using generative AI based on Alibaba's Tongyi Qianwen language model, Accio enables companies to search for wholesale products by simply inputting text or image prompts. The tool, which currently supports multiple languages, including English, German, and French, has demonstrated a 40% increase in purchase intent compared to traditional search engines, according to Alibaba.com President Kuo Zhang.

Named after a spell from the Harry Potter series, Accio provides businesses with insights into product popularity and potential profitability, as seen in a demo helping an entrepreneur establish a pickleball product line. Following the search, users receive a list of suppliers for direct engagement.

Accio taps into data from 50 million businesses on Alibaba’s platform, spanning over 1 billion listings across 100+ markets. It targets buyers in Europe and North America, Alibaba's largest overseas customer base. While generative AI is still new territory for many, Alibaba aims to make it a monetizable tool for global enterprises.

Source: Evelyn Cheng / CNBC