BUSINESS

Alibaba Opens Qwen AI to Third-Party Services in Push for Agent Dominance

Published: Jun. 4, 2026 2:39 a.m. GMT+8

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Alibaba has spent the past six months weaving its own ecosystem into Qwen. Photo: VCG

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. has opened its flagship artificial intelligence application Qwen to third-party service providers, allowing users to execute commercial tasks directly through the chatbot.

The initial rollout includes partnerships with brands such as Luckin Coffee, KFC, and China Eastern Airlines. Users can already prompt the AI to find nearby stores, recommend meals based on a specific budget, and place pickup orders, while future updates will allow companies to operate customized, proactive AI agents on the platform.

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Alibaba opens Qwen AI to third-party providers, with initial partners including Luckin Coffee, KFC, and China Eastern Airlines.
Tencent tests an AI assistant within WeChat to navigate mini-programs, driving shares up 10.5%.
Qwen added 126 million users in Q1 2026, reaching 166 million MAU, trailing ByteDance's Doubao (345 million).

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Who’s Who

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.: Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. launched its AI app Qwen to third-party providers, partnering with brands like Luckin Coffee. It integrated internal services (Alipay, Amap, Taobao) and gained 126 million users in Q1 2026, reaching 166 million monthly users, ranking second in China's AI market behind ByteDance's Doubao.

Luckin Coffee: Luckin Coffee is a partner in Alibaba's Qwen AI rollout. Users can prompt the chatbot to find nearby Luckin stores, recommend drinks based on budget, and place pickup orders, integrating the brand into autonomous AI tasks.

KFC: KFC is a partner in Alibaba's Qwen AI rollout. Users can prompt the AI to find nearby KFC stores, recommend meals based on budget, and place pickup orders. This is part of Alibaba's push toward functional AI agents.

China Eastern Airlines: China Eastern Airlines is one of the initial brand partners for Alibaba's Qwen AI chatbot, allowing users to perform commercial tasks such as finding nearby services or placing orders directly through the platform. This integration is part of Alibaba's push to enable autonomous AI agents across its ecosystem.

Tencent Holdings Ltd.: Tencent Holdings Ltd. is testing an AI assistant embedded in WeChat to navigate mini-programs for tasks like ordering coffee. This drove its shares up 10.5%, adding ~$53 billion to market cap. Tencent's Yuanbao chatbot is also among China's top AI apps.

ByteDance Ltd.: ByteDance Ltd. is a Chinese technology company. Its AI chatbot, Doubao, leads China's AI app market with 345 million monthly active users as of March 2026, surpassing competitors like Alibaba's Qwen.

DeepSeek: DeepSeek is a top AI platform in China, listed among competitors like ByteDance's Doubao and Alibaba's Qwen. The article notes it as one of the leading AI apps in the country's competitive market, though specific user numbers are not provided.

Ant Group: According to the article, Ant Group is mentioned as having an AI platform called "Afu," which ranks among China's top AI apps. No further details about Ant Group are provided in the content.

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