Introduction
A new phase in the artificial intelligence race is unfolding in China, dubbed "agentic commerce." Tech giants like Alibaba, Tencent, and ByteDance are aggressively moving to transform their platforms into AI-powered super apps where chatbots don't just answer questions—they perform complex tasks like shopping and payments on behalf of users. This shift marks a significant evolution from foundational AI models to "agentic AI" capable of executing actions with minimal supervision. As the global AI landscape evolves, the integration of these agents into daily life is set to redefine how consumers interact with the digital world.
The Rise of Agentic Commerce
Agentic commerce represents a leap forward in user experience, integrating services directly into AI interfaces. Instead of manually navigating between different apps to find products, compare prices, and make payments, users can now rely on AI agents to handle these workflows seamlessly.
According to analysts, this transformation is designed to maximize user stickiness. By embedding comprehensive service capabilities directly into chatbots, companies can build sustainable competitive advantages, or "moats," that keep users within their ecosystems. In a market where digital ecosystems are already mature, this increased engagement is vital. While agentic AI has potential applications ranging from autonomous driving to cybersecurity, e-commerce has emerged as one of the earliest and most impactful use cases, leveraging the massive user bases these platforms already process.
Major Players and Strategic Moves
Alibaba: Integrating Qwen with E-commerce
Alibaba has recently updated its Qwen AI chatbot to support direct transactions. Users can now complete tasks such as ordering food or booking air tickets without leaving the chat interface. The upgrade connects Qwen to Alibaba's massive e-commerce ecosystem, including Taobao for product recommendations and Fliggy for travel bookings, with payments processed smoothly via Alipay. This integration removes friction, allowing for a streamlined "chat-to-purchase" experience.
For more on Alibaba's AI initiatives, check out our coverage of the Qwen App Launch, which laid the groundwork for these agentic capabilities.
ByteDance: Doubao Meets Douyin
ByteDance is not far behind, having upgraded its popular Doubao AI chatbot in December. The new capabilities allow Doubao to autonomously handle tasks like ticket bookings by integrating with e-commerce features on Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok). ByteDance also showcased these capabilities on a prototype smartphone developed by ZTE, envisioning a comprehensive AI assistant for mobile devices, although some features were scaled back due to privacy concerns.
Read more about ByteDance's chatbot strategy in our article on Doubao: China's Leading Chatbot.
Tencent: WeChat as the Ultimate Super App
Tencent aims to leverage its dominance with WeChat, already China's leading super app serving over 1 billion users. Tencent President Martin Lau has stated that AI agents will become core components of the WeChat ecosystem. The goal is to deeply integrate AI across payments, logistics, and social engagement, further cementing WeChat's central role in daily digital life. This aligns with their broader AI infrastructure push, including advances in multimodal models like Hunyuan Video.
Global Competition: Integrated Ecosystems vs. Fragmentation
Chinese firms have a distinct advantage in the agentic commerce race: integrated ecosystems. Companies like Alibaba and Tencent control vast networks that span messaging, payments, and retail, providing rich behavioral data and a seamless infrastructure for AI agents to operate. This vertical integration allows for rapid deployment of agentic features that can immediately tap into millions of users' daily habits.
In contrast, Western companies face more challenges. While U.S. firms like OpenAI, Google, and Amazon lead in foundational models and global reach, they often grapple with fragmented data landscapes and stricter privacy regulations. This slows down the depth of cross-service integration seen in China. For instance, a U.S. user might use separate apps for messaging, banking, and shopping, making it harder for a single AI agent to unify these actions without complex API integrations and permission hurdles.
However, U.S. players are also making moves. Google is exploring "matchmaker" roles between consumers and merchants, and Amazon continues to innovate in AI-driven retail. The race is on to see which model—integrated super apps or specialized, privacy-focused agents—will dominate the future of global commerce.
Future Outlook
The economic potential of agentic commerce is immense. A 2025 McKinsey study estimated that AI agents could generate more than $1 trillion in economic value for U.S. businesses alone by 2030. As AI agents take over routine consumer decision-making steps, they promise to streamline commerce significantly, potentially boosting conversion rates and average order values by reducing the friction between intent and purchase.
China is expected to prioritize domestic integration and strategic expansion in selected regions, focusing on depth within its super apps. Meanwhile, U.S. firms are likely to focus on global scalability and governance frameworks, attempting to build trust through transparency while racing to match the utility of China's super agents.
Conclusion
The race for agentic commerce highlights a divergence in global AI development. Chinese tech giants are betting on deeply integrated super apps to win user loyalty and drive transactions. As these "everything apps" become smarter and more capable, they offer a glimpse into a future where AI doesn't just retrieve information—it actively manages our digital lives.