Latest news with #AccioAgent
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Here's How Alibaba's New, AI-Based Sourcing Agent Works
Alibaba International announced Thursday it has released an AI-powered sourcing agent called Accio Agent. The company joins the ranks of other organizations working to bring agentic AI, which is meant to take care of specific tasks autonomously or with little human intervention, to their customers. Agentic applications have become increasingly popular points of discussion in 2025, both for consumer-facing functions like agentic shopping and for backend business tasks like supply chain visibility and sourcing. More from Sourcing Journal Recyclers Rejoice: AI Learns to See What's Beneath the Seams Byte-Sized AI: Debenhams Launches Employee Upskilling Program; Aetrex's New AI-Enabled Foot Scanner Seller Experience Is ThredUp's Next Frontier for AI Alibaba noted in the announcement that Accio has particular potential for small-to-medium enterprises, which often have limited human capital to devote to sourcing activities. Still, these businesses work to maintain complex supply chains with multiple suppliers, which is both time consuming and highly manual. Alibaba developed Accio Agent in an effort to streamline some of the most time-consuming pieces of the sourcing equation for its clients. Alibaba said it trained Accio Agent on 1 billion product listings and 50 million suppliers' offerings and information. That, in turn, provides users with a wide breadth of options when sourcing products via the automated system. The company said its agent has the power to axe weeks' worth of work from the sourcing process, consolidating the same tasks into minutes. Users start by giving Accio Agent a task to research. While the query can be pointed at a specific product or category, the agent can also handle multi-faceted requests, researching various categories and suppliers simultaneously. So, for instance, while one user might tell Accio, 'Find me a supplier based in Vietnam who can make small batches of high-quality T-shirts with a six-week turnaround,' another user might tell Accio, 'Find suppliers that can support a pop-up brand event in New York City. I need a supplier that can provide 150 staff T-shirts, a supplier that can quickly ship tents and coffee cups, a supplier that can produce tote bags for swag bags and items to put in the swag bags. The event will be '70s themed, and I need all products by October 1.' Based on the unique task it has been given, Accio Agent pores over available suppliers, then provides a list of qualified suppliers for each subset of the task it has been given. 'Each supplier is carefully evaluated based on crucial factors, like operational history, international experience, production capacity, local market, track record and certifications,' a promotional video for Accio stated. Once preliminary supplier lists have been issued, the user can narrow their options by giving Accio additional parameters. For instance, the user that needs T-shirts can tell Accio they only want to purchase from a manufacturer that has an Oeko-Tex certification. The user planning the event might tell Accio they only want to buy tote bags made of organic cotton. Based on the additional requirements, Accio provides a finalized supplier suggestion list that compares the merits of each suggested supplier. From there, the user specifies how many units of each item they want to purchase, and Accio drafts outreach to be sent to the selected suppliers automatically. Once inquiries have been sent, users can interface directly with suppliers through Accio's platform. The company contends that Accio allows users to automate 70 percent of the manual tasks associated with sourcing products. In its announcement, Alibaba noted that the agent also offers product ideation, prototyping and compliance-related functions in an effort to break down organizational silos. Kuo Zhang, vice president of Alibaba International, said the agentic function could open new pathways during a time when sourcing has become increasingly convoluted because of the global macroeconomic environment. 'Accio Agent is a highly practical tool which solves a multitude of problems for businesses sourcing globally. It's an AI agent designed to help you do business. It can handle multiple tasks simultaneously, operating like a team of dedicated professionals—sourcing agents, product developers, engineers and market researchers—all working together to grow your business,' Zhang said in a statement. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Malaysian Reserve
5 days ago
- Business
- Malaysian Reserve
Alibaba International Releases the World's First AI Agent for Global Trade
B2B Search Engine Accio surpasses 2 million users within 9 months of launch NEW YORK, Aug. 14, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Alibaba International today announced the next iteration in the evolution of its B2B search engine Accio, with the addition of the world's first AI Agent for global trade. 'Accio Agent' has been released following Accio's milestone of surpassing two million users. This leap marks Accio's evolution from an AI-powered sourcing tool into a fully agentic AI platform. According to Alibaba International's latest survey of product-focused entrepreneurs, 40% of small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) from around the world are now run by solo entrepreneurs who face tight constraints on time, resources and manpower. Accio Agent tackles this challenge by compressing tasks which typically require days of cross-team collaboration into workflows completed in minutes. Redefining Global Trade Workflow Accio Agent revolutionizes international commerce by automating 70% of traditionally manual workflows, compressing fragmented processes including product ideation, prototyping, compliance checks and supplier sourcing into a seamless, AI-powered cycle. Here's how it works: Users start by inputting a product concept. The system instantly generates a tailored development plan, complete with market insights, regulatory guidelines and design specifications. With a single approval from the user, Accio Agent takes over conducting real-time supplier vetting, bulk RFQs and comparative analyses, and delivers a finalized, production-ready roadmap. One final click sends inquiries directly to pre-vetted global sellers listed on Alibaba's b2b e-marketplace enabling b2b buyers to quickly decide on the right choice of supplier for them. By slashing weeks of research and sourcing coordination into minutes, Accio Agent empowers SMEs and solo entrepreneurs to outpace traditional teams, turning fragmented workflows into a unified sprint from concept to global supply chain. When AI Meets Industry Depth Trained on 1 billion product listings and 50 million supplier profiles, Accio Agent revolutionizes global trade with AI that merges deep industry insights and strategic reasoning. Unlike general AI agents, Accio Agent leverages advanced language models to evaluate customer feedback and supplier performance, uncovering hidden strengths like specialized customization capabilities. It also emulates expert procurement logic, assessing technical needs, risks and business objectives to balance critical trade-offs such as quality versus cost or innovation versus compliance. Kuo Zhang, Vice President of Alibaba International, shared: 'Accio Agent is a highly practical tool which solves a multitude of problems for businesses sourcing globally. It's an AI agent designed to help you do business. It can handle multiple tasks simultaneously, operating like a team of dedicated professionals – sourcing agents, product developers, engineers, and market researchers – all working together to grow your business.' AI in the e-commerce market is valued at USD 7.68 billion in 2025 and is expected reach USD 37.69 billion by 2032, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25.5% from 2025 to 2032, according to Coherent research. Global trade hit a record $33 trillion in 2024, according to UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Accio's evolution into Agent AI underscores Alibaba International's commitment to redefining global trade through innovation. By automating complex workflows and delivering actionable insights, Accio enables businesses to navigate international b2b sourcing with newfound confidence and agility. Accio Agent is now available at by switching to 'Agent Mode'. About Alibaba International Alibaba International Digital Commerce Group (Alibaba International) is dedicated to supporting the development of global digital trade with AI-powered technology. It operates various platforms with distinctive business models, covering multiple countries and regions around the world.
Cision Canada
5 days ago
- Business
- Cision Canada
Alibaba International Releases the World's First AI Agent for Global Trade
B2B Search Engine Accio surpasses 2 million users within 9 months of launch NEW YORK, Aug. 14, 2025 /CNW/ -- Alibaba International today announced the next iteration in the evolution of its B2B search engine Accio, with the addition of the world's first AI Agent for global trade. 'Accio Agent' has been released following Accio's milestone of surpassing two million users. This leap marks Accio's evolution from an AI-powered sourcing tool into a fully agentic AI platform. According to Alibaba International's latest survey of product-focused entrepreneurs, 40% of small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) from around the world are now run by solo entrepreneurs who face tight constraints on time, resources and manpower. Accio Agent tackles this challenge by compressing tasks which typically require days of cross-team collaboration into workflows completed in minutes. Redefining Global Trade Workflow Accio Agent revolutionizes international commerce by automating 70% of traditionally manual workflows, compressing fragmented processes including product ideation, prototyping, compliance checks and supplier sourcing into a seamless, AI-powered cycle. Here's how it works: Users start by inputting a product concept. The system instantly generates a tailored development plan, complete with market insights, regulatory guidelines and design specifications. With a single approval from the user, Accio Agent takes over conducting real-time supplier vetting, bulk RFQs and comparative analyses, and delivers a finalized, production-ready roadmap. One final click sends inquiries directly to pre-vetted global sellers listed on Alibaba's b2b e-marketplace enabling b2b buyers to quickly decide on the right choice of supplier for them. By slashing weeks of research and sourcing coordination into minutes, Accio Agent empowers SMEs and solo entrepreneurs to outpace traditional teams, turning fragmented workflows into a unified sprint from concept to global supply chain. When AI Meets Industry Depth Trained on 1 billion product listings and 50 million supplier profiles, Accio Agent revolutionizes global trade with AI that merges deep industry insights and strategic reasoning. Unlike general AI agents, Accio Agent leverages advanced language models to evaluate customer feedback and supplier performance, uncovering hidden strengths like specialized customization capabilities. It also emulates expert procurement logic, assessing technical needs, risks and business objectives to balance critical trade-offs such as quality versus cost or innovation versus compliance. Kuo Zhang, Vice President of Alibaba International, shared: "Accio Agent is a highly practical tool which solves a multitude of problems for businesses sourcing globally. It's an AI agent designed to help you do business. It can handle multiple tasks simultaneously, operating like a team of dedicated professionals - sourcing agents, product developers, engineers, and market researchers - all working together to grow your business." AI in the e-commerce market is valued at USD 7.68 billion in 2025 and is expected reach USD 37.69 billion by 2032, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25.5% from 2025 to 2032, according to Coherent research. Global trade hit a record $33 trillion in 2024, according to UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Accio's evolution into Agent AI underscores Alibaba International's commitment to redefining global trade through innovation. By automating complex workflows and delivering actionable insights, Accio enables businesses to navigate international b2b sourcing with newfound confidence and agility. Accio Agent is now available at by switching to "Agent Mode". Alibaba International Digital Commerce Group (Alibaba International) is dedicated to supporting the development of global digital trade with AI-powered technology. It operates various platforms with distinctive business models, covering multiple countries and regions around the world.
