As artificial intelligence (AI) technology rapidly advances, more industries are looking to enhance their operational capabilities and market competitiveness through AI. Chinese tech giants like Alibaba, JD.com, Pinduoduo, and Baidu are all investing in AI technology to gain an edge in the e-commerce market.
Whether represented by platforms like Taobao and JD.com in the price-oriented e-commerce sector or apps like Douyin and Xiaohongshu in interest-based e-commerce, the focus of competition in the e-commerce industry is shifting towards utilizing lower costs to maximize profits, as proven effective by low-price strategies. In this trend, AI large models that focus on cost reduction and efficiency enhancement have become a significant opportunity for the e-commerce industry to leverage.
Alibaba’s recent introduction of “Huiwa” is an AI marketing platform that provides creative support to merchants, featuring AI-generated images and AI-written copies. With the AI image generation function, merchants can automatically generate display images in different styles by selecting products, models, and reference images. The AI copywriting function allows quick generation of various copies by filling in product links and selling points.
In recent years, Douyin has also accelerated its AI deployment, launching a one-stop smart creation platform called “Jichuang” under its giant engine, marking a significant step in content creation. “Jichuang” not only helps merchants quickly generate diverse marketing materials to enhance content production efficiency but also provides intelligent recommendation and optimization functions to help businesses reach target users accurately.
Content-driven platforms like Xiaohongshu and Bilibili are also introducing their own AI-powered search features.
As the final link in e-commerce services, logistics and fulfillment play a crucial role in shaping the shopping experience. E-commerce platforms with established logistics systems like JD.com and Alibaba are exploring the integration of AI technology into logistics and fulfillment processes.
For example, JD.com unveiled the “JD Logistics Superbrain” last year at its cloud summit, aiming to enhance logistics efficiency and operational standards through this logistics large model. Similarly, Alibaba’s Cainiao introduced the digital supply chain product “Tianji π” last year, hoping to play a role in sales forecasting, replenishment planning, inventory health, and other aspects.
From store operations, content creation to logistics fulfillment, across the entire e-commerce transaction network, platforms are exploring AI’s transformative impact on the e-commerce industry chain. However, while platforms and merchants focus on AI capabilities, for the average consumer, the most direct impact of AI development lies in the increasing presence of AI-generated digital influencers on social media platforms, particularly in the live streaming commerce segment.
As the trend of AI digital influencers gains traction, Chinese search engine giant Baidu launched a new e-commerce brand called “Baidu Optimal” last year, proclaiming to “reshape e-commerce with AI” and using digital influencers in live streaming as a showcase of Baidu’s AI capabilities. During last year’s Double 11 shopping festival, under the live streaming commerce model featuring digital influencers, Baidu Optimal’s GMV surged by 740% compared to the previous year.
JD.com’s investment in digital influencers has also shown initial success. During this year’s Spring Festival, JD.com’s Yunyanxi digital influencer accumulated a GMV of over 40 million RMB, with a conversion rate increase of over 30%.
Marketing business media platform Morketing believes that the impact of AI digital influencers on live streaming commerce includes the ability to collaborate with human hosts, reduce costs by extending live streaming times, and enable brands to effectively lower trial-and-error costs when expanding target audiences through personalized AI avatars.