E-commerce giants race to power "618"

Artificial intelligence took center stage this year during China's annual 618 shopping festival on Thursday, as the country's e-commerce giants raced to turn chatbots, digital hosts and AI shopping agents into the next gateway to billions of dollars in consumer spending.

From JD's digital livestream hosts to Alibaba's AI shopping assistant and ByteDance's AI-powered recommendation tools, this year's shopping extravaganza marked the deepest integration of AI into China's online retail ecosystem.

Within the first four hours of the promotion, the number of merchants using JD's JoyAI model and its AI livestreaming host, JoyS-treamer, increased sixfold from a year earlier. Those AI-powered streams generated more than 70 million yuan ($10.3 million) in sales.

Cao Peng, chairman of JD's technology committee, said: "This year's 618 shopping festival was JD's first to fully integrate AI across all scenarios and throughout the entire value chain."

"For businesses, AI is reshaping the economics of commerce by lowering costs and boosting efficiency. For consumers, it is fundamentally transforming the shopping experience," he said.

Notably, Alibaba's Qwen AI application has been connected to the full product catalog of Taobao, allowing users to compare products, calculate discounts and complete purchases through conversational prompts.

Xu Xiao, a 27-year-old bank employee from Beijing, said she uses AI-powered virtual try-on tools when considering clothes in unfamiliar colors or styles. "It helps me avoid making bad purchases and improves the chances that I'll be satisfied with what I buy."

The e-commerce unit of ByteDance's Douyin has also made large-scale computing resources available to merchants and rolled out AI customer service tools aimed at reducing labor costs. Short-video platform Kuaishou has deployed AI diagnostic systems that help sellers identify operational problems and optimize marketing strategies in real time.

The shift is also changing how platforms understand consumer intent.

Liu Bangzheng, a senior executive at Alibaba's advertising unit Alimama, said: "AI can move beyond understanding keywords and begin understanding intent."

Liu cited an example in which AI discovered unexpected consumer groups for certain products. Smart lock manufacturers, which usually focus on homeowners, discovered potential demand among young women with long fingernails who preferred keyless entry, Liu said.

According to Huatai Securities, AI has evolved from a supporting tool into critical operating infrastructure, helping merchants manage marketing, customer service, livestreaming and advertising in China.

A white paper jointly released by Alibaba's Taobao and Tmall Group and industry partners said that roughly 70 percent of merchants operating on Alibaba platforms are already using AI tools to support business decisions.

Hong Yong, an associate research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under the Ministry of Commerce, said that over the longer term, AI could shift the competitive dynamics of e-commerce from a battle for traffic to one centered on consumer decision-making.

"Future growth will hinge on whether AI recommendations genuinely serve users rather than becoming another advertising channel, whether small merchants can afford advanced AI tools, and whether platforms can address concerns around pricing transparency, privacy protection and accountability," he said.

However, he also cautioned that many AI services still struggle with accuracy and reliability. Some consumers reported receiving irrelevant recommendations, while merchants say AI-generated business reports often require extensive human verification.