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Facing an enormous global online sales opportunity, many companies, especially SMEs, struggle to meet each country’s language, personalization, and marketing challenges. But a new AI-enhanced set of commerce and marketing tools from Alibaba International Digital Commerce Group, or Alibaba International, is helping them open doors and build customer loyalty.

Selling online across the world and specific global regions has never been easy for sellers of any size.

Even with the right ecommerce platform and digital technology in place, sellers still face cultural, multilingual, buyer personalization and other challenges that can vary widely by continent and country.

But a new series of artificial intelligence (AI) tools from Alibaba International — which supports the development of global digital trade with AI-powered technology and operates various platforms with distinctive business models, will soon give sellers a true helping hand.

In November, Alibaba International pilot-launched — and is now ramping up — AI for Digital and Global Entrepreneurship, or Aidge. It features a series of AI-enhanced application programming interfaces (APIs) designed to help sellers more quickly and easily embark on cross-border sales.

Alibaba International says Aidge will provide sellers with multilingual, content localization and marketing capabilities to help them overcome foreign language and cultural barriers. Its built-in features will help sellers manage design, marketing, and customer service as they address the difficulties global sellers commonly face in hiring the right talent.

“Prior to Aidge, sellers on platforms might have struggled with real-time, multilingual customer engagement, but Aidge’s AI chatbots can now provide instant, contextually relevant responses, a significant improvement over manual, potentially slower customer service,” says Kaifu Zhang, vice president of Alibaba International. “The consumer insights gathered by Aidge can help sellers understand nuanced customer preferences, allowing them to tailor their offerings more effectively.”

Alibaba International is using APIs, which draw on the company’s years of insights into global e-commerce operations, to build and scale Aidge. Following Aidge’s pilot launch in November, Alibaba International began testing more than 15 APIs with software as a service (SaaS) providers and independent software vendors (ISVs) that included modules for customer insight, content localization, marketing, design, and customer service.

Key features include:

• Customer insights: Tools for analyzing customer feedback and extracting selling points.
• Content localization: Product content localization for text and images, aiding in adapting products to different linguistic and cultural contexts.
• Customer service: Multilingual live chat, shopping assistant and customer service chatbots.
• Design: Templates for creating marketing materials and product exhibits.
• Marketing: Automated search engine optimization (SEO) and marketing message generation.

“Aidge functions as a versatile suite, not just directly deployed on our ecommerce platforms but also made accessible to our SaaS partners and ISVs,” Zhang says. “This approach allows these partners to leverage Aidge’s capabilities to create tailored applications that address the specific requirements of their respective audiences. Importantly, the scope of these applications extends beyond our ecommerce platforms, offering the flexibility to operate across various business scenarios.”

A big part of Alibaba International’s technology development is AI tools to help sellers sell more successfully digitally and globally.

For example, Alibaba International designed Aidge with AI agents to support sales conversion, manage customer inquiries and requests, and handle search engine optimization tasks. “These agents have already been deployed on ecommerce platforms operated by Alibaba International,” the company says.

One of the platforms conducting an Aidge pilot test is Daraz, Pakistan’s largest ecommerce retail platform, founded in 2012 in Pakistan and acquired by Alibaba in 2018. Daraz will launch an enhancement to its instant message feature that better assists users through AI-generated prompts.

“By empowering sellers to optimize their operations and online stores through AI, we can help them free up their time and spend time on what truly matters: growing their business,” says Daraz chief product officer Tatiana Palhares.

Aidge is rolling out its services to merchants on Alibaba International’s ecommerce platforms and intends to serve more sellers through collaborations with SaaS partners, the company says. A staged rollout by region is anticipated soon.

“Aidge enhances customer interaction through its sophisticated AI chatbots,” Zhang says. “These chatbots provide immediate and personalized customer service, vastly improving the overall shopping experience. This immediacy and personalization are key in today’s fast-paced digital commerce environment, where customer expectations for quick and relevant responses are high.”

Sidebar: Q&A with Kaifu Zhang, vice president of Alibaba International

The power of AI brought to bear by Aidge

Q: What are the key AI-enabled features of Aidge that sellers can?

Zhang: Aidge functions as a versatile suite, not just directly deployed on our ecommerce platforms but also made accessible to our Software as a Service (SaaS) partners and independent software vendors (ISVs). This approach allows these partners to leverage Aidge’s capabilities to create tailored applications that address the specific requirements of their respective target audiences. Importantly, the scope of these applications extends beyond our ecommerce platforms, offering the flexibility to operate across various business scenarios.

Some of the key features of Aidge are:

• Consumer Insights: Tools for analyzing customer feedback and extracting selling points.
• Content Localization: Product content localization for text and images, aiding in adapting products to different linguistic and cultural contexts.
• Customer Service: Multilingual live chat, shopping assistant chatbot, and customer service chatbot.
• Design: Templates for creating marketing materials and product exhibits.
• Marketing: Automated search engine optimization (SEO) and marketing message generation.

Q: How can sellers use these tools to sell more effectively on Alibaba International’s platforms?

Zhang: By utilizing consumer insights tools, sellers gain a deeper understanding of customer preferences, allowing them to tailor their offerings more precisely.

Content localization plays a crucial role in ensuring effective marketing across diverse languages and cultures, thereby expanding global reach. Additionally, the inclusion of multilingual chatbots and live chat features enhances customer support, making it more efficient and accessible to a worldwide audience.

Automated SEO and marketing tools are instrumental in targeting the right audience and boosting online visibility, while the availability of design tools enables sellers to craft professional and attractive marketing materials and product displays, further enhancing their professional presentation.

Q: What do these new AI-enabled tools help sellers do on Alibaba International’s platforms they cannot do previously?

Zhang: Prior to Aidge, sellers on platforms such as Daraz might have struggled with real-time, multilingual customer engagement. Aidge’s AI chatbots can now provide instant, contextually relevant responses, a significant improvement over manual, potentially slower customer service.

In addition, the consumer insights gathered by Aidge from Alibaba International’s e-commerce operations can help sellers understand nuanced customer preferences, allowing them to tailor their offerings more effectively.

Finally, the implementation of the AI-powered Aidge suite stands as a meaningful change for SMEs operating in international markets. By harnessing this advanced technology, businesses can significantly streamline their commerce operations, overcoming prevalent challenges such as the prohibitive costs associated with marketing and user acquisition. Additionally, Aidge offers an innovative solution to the often-encountered issue of talent shortages, particularly in specialized areas like digital commerce. This not only optimizes operational efficiency but also opens new avenues for growth and scalability in the increasingly competitive global marketplace.

Q: How do these new AI-enabled features improve how sellers can merchandise, market, and personalize products on the Alibaba International’s platforms?

Zhang: Aidge revolutionizes personalized marketing for SMEs by offering deep insights and enabling the automation of marketing messages. This allows for the creation of more tailored and effective marketing strategies that resonate with specific customer segments.

Additionally, Aidge’s cultural adaptation tools play a crucial role in ensuring that product descriptions and imagery are culturally relevant and appealing across diverse regions. This is particularly important in a global marketplace, where understanding and respecting cultural nuances can significantly impact consumer appeal and sales.

Moreover, Aidge enhances customer interaction through its sophisticated AI chatbots. These chatbots provide immediate and personalized customer service, vastly improving the overall shopping experience. This immediacy and personalization are key in today’s fast-paced digital commerce environment, where customer expectations for quick and relevant responses are high.

The streamlined design process offered by Aidge is another major advantage for sellers. Its user-friendly design templates enable sellers to quickly and efficiently create or update marketing materials and product displays. This ensures that product images are not only visually appealing but also consistently up to date, a crucial factor in retaining customer interest and competitiveness in the market.

Lastly, optimizing online presence is made more efficient with Aidge. The suite’s AI agents and SEO tools are designed to help sellers enhance their online visibility. This optimization ensures that products are more discoverable and attractive to potential buyers, a critical aspect in driving online traffic and increasing sales opportunities.