Innovation of the Week: Alibaba’s AI search engine has grown to 500,000 users

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Innovation of the Week is a series highlighting retail initiatives that have caught the eye of our team.

Innovation of the Week is a series highlighting retail initiatives that have caught the eye of our team. Every week, we will bring you new ideas and case studies across consumer, technology, sustainability, economy, policy and industry.

What is it?

Alibaba’s AI-powered B2B search engine for product sourcing has reached 500,000 small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) users.

The engine, dubbed Accio, was launched in November 2024 and uses natural language processing to enhance search capabilities to allow small and medium businesses to find products.

The search engine houses millions of global suppliers spanning over 7,600 product categories, with the aim of connecting buyers with partners to transform their product concepts into successful businesses.

Accio is highly trained on over 200 million trade industry-specific parameters.

Why does it matter?

Alibaba said Accio differs from traditional keyword searches as Accio is built to enable search in natural language, ensuring users can interact with the engine in a more “intuitive and conversational manner”.

It currently supports languages in English, French, German, Portuguese and Spanish, with additional languages planned for future updates, making it usable for businesses around the globe.

The interface is designed to be user-friendly and provide product information in a familiar way along with comparisons and similar items to help businesses make easier informed sourcing decisions.

Accio Agent complements the search engine by simplifying the follow-up process for inquiries, payments, and after-sales support.

Strategic implications?

Since its launch two months ago, the Accio Inspiration feature has seen a significant increase of almost 30% in conversion rates for suppliers.

Over the peak online retail sales season in November and December, over 50,000 SMEs worldwide have used Accio to source inspiration for Black Friday and Christmas inventory stocking.

Alibaba said user feedback shows that the search engine helped businesses achieve this effectively, highlighting the demand for this type of technology.

Accio is on track to move the dial on a new era for B2B global trade as AI continues to be a focus in the industry.

As it becomes more widely used, both SMEs and large businesses are equipped to sort through wide-ranging information and make informed purchasing decisions while saving time and money on sourcing.