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Artificial intelligence
TechTech Trends

Alibaba’s Quark app adds AI chatbot in challenge to ByteDance’s Doubao, Tencent’s Yuanbao

Quark is also launching AI glasses in a presale which kicks off Friday on Chinese e-commerce platforms including JD.com and Alibaba’s Tmall

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In this photo illustration taken March 13, 2025, the Quark page is displayed on a smartphone screen with the Alibaba logo in the background. Photo: VCG via Getty Images
Ben Jiangin Beijing

Alibaba Group Holding has upped the ante in China’s crowded consumer artificial intelligence market by adding chat integration to its Quark app, putting it in direct competition with services from ByteDance and Tencent Holdings, as the country’s tech giants ramp up their AI rivalry.

The chat feature, powered by Alibaba Cloud’s latest Qwen3 AI models, adds ChatGPT-like text and voice conversational functions to Quark, which already offered tools spanning search to AI writing, the tech conglomerate said in a statement on Thursday. Alibaba Cloud is the AI and cloud services unit of Hangzhou-based Alibaba, which owns the Post.

The company said the update enabled Quark to deliver “a complete AI experience” that provided users with instant answers through search and allowed for deeper interaction through chat.

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The move underscores the Chinese tech giant’s growing efforts to build Quark into a versatile super AI app for local consumers amid intensifying competition among Chinese tech firms pursuing the same goal with similar offerings, such as ByteDance’s Doubao and Tencent’s Yuanbao.

Separately, Quark is also launching AI glasses in a presale which kicks off Friday on Chinese e-commerce platforms including JD.com and Alibaba’s Tmall.

The Qwen logo from Alibaba Cloud is seen displayed on a smartphone screen. Photo: Shutterstock Images
The Qwen logo from Alibaba Cloud is seen displayed on a smartphone screen. Photo: Shutterstock Images
The Quark AI frame – capable of hands-free calling, real-time language translation and meeting minutes transcriptions – is priced at 4,699 yuan (US$659.37), but is available as low as 3,699 yuan with discounts during the current Singles’ Day shopping festival.
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