Amazon Trails as Alibaba’s Qwen AI Handles 200M Orders in Two Weeks
During a two-week Lunar New Year campaign, Alibaba’s Qwen AI processed nearly 200 million orders and lifted daily active users from 17 million to 73.5 million. Amazon has introduced Rufus and Lens Live shopping assistants but still cannot complete transactions end to end.
1. Alibaba’s Qwen AI Order Surge
During its Lunar New Year promotion, Alibaba’s Qwen AI app handled nearly 200 million orders in two weeks, spanning groceries, movie tickets, flights and more. Daily active users surged from about 17 million pre-holiday to 73.5 million, demonstrating the system’s capacity to process real transactions at scale.
2. Amazon’s AI Shopping Initiatives
Amazon has rolled out Rufus, a generative-AI assistant within its shopping app that answers product questions, compares items and recommends purchases. The company also launched Lens Live to identify products via smartphone camera, but neither feature yet completes transactions without redirecting users through traditional checkout.
3. Implications for Amazon’s Commerce Strategy
If AI becomes the primary interface for online shopping, the ability to finalize purchases end to end will be a critical competitive advantage. Amazon’s partial integration contrasts with Alibaba’s ecosystem control, potentially ceding market position in AI-driven commerce to rivals that deliver seamless transactions.