Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. unveiled its generative AI model on Tuesday, a version of the technology that powers chatbot sensation ChatGPT.
In a video demonstration, the AI large language model called Tongyi Qianwen drafted invitation letters, planned trip itineraries, and advised shoppers on which makeup to buy.
Tongyi Qianwen will be integrated into DingTalk, Alibaba’s workplace messaging app, at first, and can be used to summarise meeting notes, write emails, and draught business proposals.
Tmall Genie, Alibaba’s voice assistant, will also have AI integrated into it.
This A.I “will bring about big changes to the way we produce, the way we work, and the way we live our lives,” CEO Daniel Zhang said at a livestreamed event.
AI models like Tongyi Qianwen, he says, are “the big picture for making AI more popular in the future.”
The cloud unit of the Chinese internet giant plans to open Tongyi Qianwen to clients so they can build their own customised large language models, and registrations for Tongyi Qianwen began on Friday.
Alibaba shares rose 1.5% in Hong Kong trade, while the broader market remained flat. SenseTime shares rose initially but fell 2.7% later.
Since the release of ChatGPT by Microsoft-backed OpenAI late last year, there has been a surge in global interest in generative AI, which learns how to take actions from past data to create new content.
Several Chinese firms have revealed or teased AI models and chatbots.
Baidu Inc, the search giant, announced its Ernie Bot chatbot earlier this year. For the time being, the bot is only available to trial users.
SenseTime, a Chinese AI company, unveiled a slew of new AI products on Monday, including a chatbot called SenseChat.