Alibaba's AI agents now handle 90% of B2B sourcing and negotiation

Oct 7, 2026 · The Artificial Intelligence Show
🎧 PodShort 47 min squeezed to 2 ARMARM Sales Tech New
Episode artwork
Quo Jean
President at Alibaba.com
Mike Caput
Chief Content Officer at SmarterX and Marketing AI Institute
Paul Rate
CEO and Founder at SmarterX
The Artificial Intelligence Show
47 min squeezed to 2
Full episode from The Artificial Intelligence Show
Quotable Moments

I think the biggest challenge is everything is moving so fast. Previously, it is easy for us to predict what it looks like for three years. Now, three years means forever.

Quo JeanPresident at Alibaba.com
37:56

We have a formula that agent equals to model times harness times context. And why is a multiply? Because each element is zero, then the entire equation is zero.

Quo JeanPresident at Alibaba.com
08:11

This is a new system, it's a kind of new framework for the commerce environment of the proto-frontier. And we use this model to solve mathematics is perfect. But then we use this model to solve the real problem in the business world. Many of the cases is failed.

Quo JeanPresident at Alibaba.com
32:40
Key Insights
  • AI is transforming B2B e-commerce from a business-to-business (B2B) model to a business-to-agent (B2A) model, where AI agents handle transactions and negotiations on behalf of businesses.
  • Alibaba.com launched Axio in November 2024, an AI-powered search and sourcing engine designed to assist business buyers.
  • Axio has evolved beyond simple search to become a team of AI agents that can break down business goals into specific tasks and help execute them, including market research, product sourcing, supplier negotiation, and store operations.
  • The B2B e-commerce transaction process, which used to take up to 60 steps, can now be streamlined to about 6 steps with the help of AI agents.
  • AI agents can generate professional design packs for suppliers, significantly reducing miscommunication and disputes between buyers and sellers.
  • The shift to AI agents in B2B e-commerce is driven by the need to save time and achieve efficiency, as human agents can handle complex decision-making and negotiations more effectively.
  • Alibaba.com's AI-powered platform is also being used for e-commerce workspace functions, allowing users to manage multiple stores and listings across different platforms from a single interface.
  • The success of AI in B2B e-commerce hinges on the ability of AI models to understand the real business context, including market trends, competitor activities, and financial viability.
Metrics Mentioned
  • Over 47 million buyers from over 190 countries used Alibaba.com in FY2024 (To source business opportunities or complete transactions.)
  • Over 240,000 paying members on Alibaba.com (In FY2024.)
  • More than 10 million small businesses now use Axio work (To run their operations.)
  • Collectively consuming 1 trillion AI tokens over a recent three-month period (By small businesses using Axio.)

RevBots.ai View:

  • ARM stage alert: This is full AI orchestration replacing human workflows.
  • The 'model x harness x context' formula applies to revenue ops automation.
  • Tab Hoppers still doing manual sourcing are now at severe disadvantage.
  • SaaS Hoarders with disconnected procurement tools should evaluate agent ecosystems.
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