Ali International announced the launch of AI Trade Assistant Accio Agent, to be dubbed “the first AI to do business around the world” as its brand-new upgrade to Accio as its B2B search engine. Its automated market research, product R & D design and supplier search and comparison functions will significantly improve the trade efficiency of SMEs and generate widespread attention in the area of global cross-border electric operators.
By automating 70 per cent of traditional manual workflows, Accio Agent has integrated product creativity, prototype design, compliance inspection and vendor procurement into a seamless AI-driven cycle. Users need only input into the product concept, and the system can generate customized development plans, including market insight, regulatory guidance and design specifications, followed by real-time vendor screening, bulk request and comparative analysis, and ultimately a production-ready road map.
Accio Agent, based on a billion product lists and 50 million vendor archive training, covers 7,600 product categories and 200 million industry-specific trade parameters. It also uses user-generated content (UGC), such as product reviews and feedback from suppliers, to ensure reliable and experience-driven insights in combination with Retrieval-Augmented General (RAG) technology. Accio Agent will also integrate live video translation at the Ali International Station to support more than 15 languages and remove language barriers in cross-border procurement.
Since its launch on 13 November 2024, the number of users has exceeded 2 million in nine months, of which 500,000 SMEs used Acio for stock-up during the November-December 2024 Friday and Christmas procurement season. During the pilot phase, Accio Agent raised the volume of procurement requests from global buyers by 40 per cent, demonstrating its potential to optimize the procurement process.
According to the analysts, the function of Accio Agent was equivalent to the value of a professional procurement team, which was approximately $250,000. Its one-stop capacity of “market research, product design, supplier matching to procurement completion” has addressed the pain of limited time and resources for SMEs and has been widely appreciated.
Global trade reached $33 trillion in 2024 (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development data) and is projected to reach $32 trillion in 2025, with digitized penetration rates remaining only in digits. The roll-out of Accio Agent was in line with the rapid growth of AI in the electricity market, which is expected to grow from $7.68 billion in 2025 to $37.69 billion in 2032.
The quarterly income of Ali International Station increased by 32 per cent in June 2025 to RMB 29.3 billion (approximately $4 billion), largely driven by cross-border operations. The launch of Accio Agent was not only a technological innovation but also a strategic initiative by Ali to expand international markets and attract 358 million SMEs.
