AI, Alibaba's crucial battle

For any internet player, finding a bridge that connects the internet era with the AI era is no easy task.

The same goes for Alibaba.

When Daniel Zhang was at the helm of Alibaba, we saw the company focusing more on traditional businesses. Daniel Zhang's transformation of Alibaba was also limited to those businesses originally built on the internet, merely staying at the level of organizational restructuring.

Clearly, while these changes could bring some improvement to Alibaba, fundamentally solving its dilemmas and challenges was impossible.

Ultimately, Alibaba needs a more foundational, soul-touching revolution to truly address the difficulties it faces.

Although Daniel Zhang created the "Double 11" shopping festival at Alibaba, when it comes to solving the deeper challenges Alibaba faces today, perhaps he lacked the necessary energy.

It was under these circumstances that we saw Daniel Zhang step down and the return of Alibaba veterans like Joseph Tsai and Eddie Wu.

With Joseph Tsai and Eddie Wu back at Alibaba, we witnessed the beginning of a new transformation, different from Daniel Zhang's approach.

Unlike Daniel Zhang's conservative style, Joseph Tsai and Eddie Wu's changes for Alibaba are more profound, thorough, foundational, and bold.

To summarize their transformation of Alibaba, it aligns closely with Jack Ma's repeated emphasis on "AI e-commerce" in internal communications.

In the end, Jack Ma now plays more of a spiritual role, while Joseph Tsai and Eddie Wu act as the executors.

Thus, an AI-led revolution began to unfold at Alibaba.

Alibaba's connection with AI has surfaced.

I

Today, we can see AI's presence in almost all of Alibaba's business lines, and in every speech by its executives, we hear the term "AI."

From these signs, we can see Alibaba's determination to embrace AI.

It must be said that Alibaba's full commitment to AI is indeed on the right path.

With AI's support, the resurgence of players like Baidu has been proven correct by the market.

Today's Baidu is no longer a follower of the mobile internet era but a leader in AI implementation and application.

This can be glimpsed from Baidu's repeated direct confrontations with ChatGPT.

Ultimately, Baidu's early AI 布局 has borne fruit, enabling its resurgence.

In a way, Baidu has proven with its actions that AI is the future's mainstream direction.

If Baidu's early AI 布局 allowed it to taste new AI 红利， then the AI 落地和应用 by players like Tencent and JD.com show us the reality of AI's overwhelming tide.

Today, AI has become the new engine driving Tencent's growth and the breakthrough for JD.com to 落地 new business models like JD Procurement.

For Alibaba, missing out on AI is equivalent to missing the new round of competition among internet players.

Ultimately, only by continuously embracing AI and finding ways to integrate it can Alibaba remain at the competitive table of internet players.

Now, we see Alibaba talking about AI in every word and relying on AI in every action—this is a direct reflection of this phenomenon.

In the end, only by increasing Alibaba's voice in AI can it stay at the table in the new AI era.

Otherwise, Alibaba will not only fail to halt its decline in the mobile internet era but also plunge itself into new predicaments.

II

Through Alibaba's all-out embrace of AI and Jack Ma's repeated emphasis on AI, we see Alibaba's urgency to change itself.

However, just as Baidu went through a long period of 摸索与实践 in embracing AI, and just as players like JD.com and Tencent spent a long time experimenting with integrating AI into their businesses, Alibaba also needs time to make an impact in the new AI 赛道。

At least based on Alibaba's current development, its full embrace of AI is still in a relatively early stage.

Whether it's Alibaba's C 端思维 in viewing AI or its 平台逻辑 in 落地 AI, we can see that Alibaba's understanding of AI is still internet-centric.

While Alibaba's embrace of AI can somewhat halt its decline, if it wants to use AI to stage a comeback and regain its past glory from the mobile internet era, perhaps what Alibaba needs is not just an internet-style embrace but a deeper, more comprehensive revolution.

Ultimately, in embracing AI, Alibaba must move beyond internet-style thinking—not treating AI as just another marketing concept like "new retail" or "new e-commerce"—but seeing it as something that can deeply integrate with its businesses and fundamentally transform its 商业模式。

For Alibaba, it must find more points of integration between AI and its large supply 端， as well as between AI and the merchants it serves.

Through AI, Alibaba can truly undergo a deep change in its operational logic and enable a complete transformation in the production and services of upstream merchants.

Only when Alibaba shifts its focus on AI from the C 端 to the B 端 and the 平台端 will it find the right way to create 化学反应 with AI.

Otherwise, Alibaba's embrace of AI will remain at the internet level, confined to traditional logic.

III

In fact, a new competition around AI 落地和应用 is unfolding.

Earlier, Zhou Hongyi pointed out that this year is the 元年 of AI 落地。

So why wasn't last year the 元年 of AI 落地？

I believe one key reason is that before this year, AI applications were more 偏向 C 端。

While this approach helped 普及 AI, to maximize AI's utility, focusing solely on the C 端 without upgrading and transforming the B 端—especially the supply 端—means AI's potential cannot be fully realized.

For any player aiming to make a mark in the AI era, they must focus more on the B 端 than the C 端 to truly seize the new 红利 of the AI era.

Baidu's deep transformation of industries like transportation, education, and agriculture through AI goes without saying.

Apple's collaboration with ChatGPT to 落地 AI in its apps also shows us the direction of AI's integration with the B 端。

Similarly, AI's integration with Tencent and JD.com has led to profound changes in their internal elements and operational logic.

This is where AI can truly 发挥 its full potential and 跳出互联网式的发展逻辑。

As Alibaba begins to integrate with AI—especially as it develops a deep AI 情结—it needs to find ways to combine AI with itself and the vast number of 产业端 users on its platform.

Only when AI becomes a method for Alibaba to undergo 嬗变，去平台化， and 去中心化， and when AI becomes a way for the B 端 users in Alibaba's ecosystem to transform their production methods, will Alibaba find the right 姿势 to embrace AI.

From other players' integration with AI, we can see a clear roadmap.

Platform players like Alibaba need to use AI to 改造原有业务 and provide new 赋能 beyond 流量 to their B 端 users, achieving 同频共振 with AI and gaining new 发展。

Alibaba likely needs to do the same.

Moving beyond the early 萌芽状态 of the C 端 and truly using AI to 改造自身与上游的产业端 may be the key for Alibaba to maximize AI's 效能。

Conclusion

AI is Alibaba's decisive battle.

Whether it's Jack Ma, Alibaba's founder, championing AI, or the transformations initiated by executors like Joseph Tsai and Eddie Wu, we can see Alibaba's strong AI 情结—even viewing AI as the antidote to stabilize its decline.

Alibaba's all-in approach is commendable.

However, Alibaba's focus on AI must not remain at the C 端 but shift 更多 to its 平台 and the vast upstream 产业端 market.

Only when Alibaba finds ways for itself and the 上游产业端 to 共舞 with AI and takes its first steps in the AI era can the 化学反应 between AI and Alibaba unleash greater energy.

Then, Alibaba won't be 缺席者 of this 全新变革 but a "seed player" that remains at the table, competing with its old rivals.$Alibaba(BABA.US)