tech
January 22, 2026
Chinese tech giants enter the 'agentic commerce' race as AI reshapes super apps
China's tech giants are jostling to gain an edge in the AI race, as firms seek to develop models capable of coordinating and performing functions across sites.
TL;DR
- Chinese tech giants Alibaba, Tencent, and ByteDance are racing to build AI-powered 'super apps' focused on 'agentic commerce'.
- These companies are transforming AI chatbots into tools that handle shopping, booking, and payments directly within the interface.
- Alibaba's Qwen AI chatbot now allows direct transactions for services like food ordering and air ticket booking, linked to its e-commerce platforms and Alipay.
- This shift from foundational AI models to 'agentic AI' performs tasks on behalf of users with limited supervision, aiming to increase user stickiness and competitive advantage.
- E-commerce is identified as an early and pervasive use case for agentic AI.
- Tencent's WeChat and ByteDance's Douyin (TikTok) are also integrating AI agents into their super app ecosystems.
- Chinese firms benefit from integrated ecosystems, rich behavioral data, and consumer familiarity with super apps.
- Western companies, while leading in foundational AI models, face challenges due to more fragmented data and stricter privacy regulations, slowing integration.
- AI agents could generate significant economic value by streamlining consumer decision-making processes.
- China's strategy focuses on domestic integration and regional expansion, while U.S. firms prioritize global scalability and governance.
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