Alibaba’s upgraded Qwen chatbot app receives warm consumer reception

Alibaba’s ambition to turn its chatbot app into a powerful AI assistant that dramatically changes the way people interact with smart devices appears to be paying off, according to users and analysts.

Instead of repeatedly swiping a screen to complete a task, a user can tell the Qwen app to conduct a range of tasks from ordering drinks to paying electricity bills after the Hangzhou-based technology giant links it to the group’s existing apps like shopping platform Taobao and payment interface Alipay. The app has been developed using Alibaba’s Qwen family of large language models. Alibaba owns the Post.

Consumers hailed the change, saying the Qwen app could be the gateway to access Alibaba’s AI capabilities and varied services, liberating users from time-consuming operations such as comparing prices from different vendors. With the switch, Qwen has upgraded from a chatbot into a virtual “life assistant” for hundreds of millions of consumers.

“I tried to order meals using Qwen and it went smoothly,” said Yang Tao, who works in the new-energy vehicle sector in Nanjing, on Thursday. It would be particularly useful for senior citizens who might not be good at navigating different apps, he added.

The updated Qwen app was launched on Thursday, with Wu Jia, Alibaba’s vice-president in charge of consumer-facing AI, showing its capabilities by ordering 40 cups of milk tea to the site of the launch ceremony.