The world’s largest e-commerce company has launched a new feature called AI Mode, an agentic AI-powered workflow designed to streamline supplier discovery and sourcing across its global B2B marketplace. Alibaba.com unveiled the feature at its CoCreate Europe event in London alongside reports that it has posted a 57 percent year-over-year increase in European order volume and a 50 percent increase in active suppliers worldwide.
The new feature, rolling out in December, uses natural language processing, multimodal understanding, and automated comparison tools to analyze pricing, logistics, certifications, and production capabilities. Alibaba.com said the goal is to provide more accurate recommendations and reduce the manual steps involved in supplier evaluation.
“AI is no longer a supplementary tool at Alibaba.com,” said Kuo Zhang, president of Alibaba.com. “It’s evolving into the operating system of our platform.”
AI Mode builds on the company’s earlier move to introduce deep search using large language models. Powered by the Accio search engine, the feature is designed to surface manufacturers and specialized suppliers that may not appear in keyword-based search results.
Alibaba.com noted broader regional trends during the event driving the launch of tools like AI Mode. According to company-commissioned research, 90 percent of European executives view product innovation as essential to growth, and 62 percent say they are comfortable using AI to support design and sourcing decisions. The company expects AI adoption to grow further as businesses respond to sustainability requirements, diversification needs, and competitive pressures.