Alibaba (BABA) Stock Rises 5% After Alipay Launches AI Merchant Platform

TLDR

• Alibaba stock climbed 5%, its best gain in two weeks, after Alipay launched a new AI merchant platform
• Alipay described the platform as China’s first full-stack agentic commerce platform
• The platform connects merchants to Ah Bao, Alipay’s super service AI agent launched in June
• Ah Bao is connected to over 5 smartphone brands covering 70% of the market and 16 carmakers
• The launch comes ahead of Alibaba’s June quarter earnings this week

Alibaba stock jumped 5% on Tuesday, its biggest single-day gain in two weeks, after Alipay announced the launch of what it calls China’s first full-stack agentic commerce platform for merchants.

Alibaba Group Holding Limited, BABA

The move lifted sentiment around Alibaba heading into its June quarter earnings report, due later this week.

The platform gives merchants a set of AI tools they can use to shift from standard digital operations to AI-powered ones. Merchants without existing AI services can convert their pages, products and workflows into what Alipay calls “agent-ready skills.”

Alipay has launched China’s first full-stack agentic commerce platform, helping merchants move from digital operations to AI-powered operations. pic.twitter.com/nmOHTEjI6i

— Alipay (@Alipay) August 17, 2026

At the centre of the platform is Ah Bao, Alipay’s AI agent that was introduced in June. It lets consumers access more than 10,000 AI-powered services through natural language conversations, from paying utility bills to booking restaurant orders.

Brands including KFC, Luckin Coffee and Mixue Bingcheng have already plugged into Ah Bao. Users can place orders and make payments by chatting with the agent rather than navigating multiple apps.

Device Reach

Alipay says Ah Bao is now connected to five major smartphone brands that together account for more than 70% of the market, as well as 16 carmakers. The company uses its AHA protocol to allow merchants to reach users across smartphones, cars, AI glasses and other devices.

Ant Group CEO Cyril Han said the company sees fast growth ahead. “Agentic commerce is poised for rapid growth over the next 6 to 12 months,” Han said.

One partnership involves foundation model company StepFun, whose users can access daily life services through Ah Bao on StepFun’s AI-native devices. OPPO has also connected its Breeno AI agent to services available through Ah Bao.

Merchant Incentives

To bring more developers and merchants into the ecosystem, Alipay launched an AI Business Incentive Program. It includes 100 million free tokens per user, transaction subsidies and reduced payment fees.

Alipay says it connects more than one billion consumers with over 80 million merchants across China and supports more than 10,000 services spanning travel, healthcare and entertainment.

The platform launch took place at Alipay’s AI Ecosystem Partner Conference in Hangzhou on Tuesday, August 18.

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