Xu Jingqian (second from left) visits Saudi Arabia during Spring Festival. [Photo provided to Tide News]

During the recent Spring Festival, a merchant from Jinhua, Zhejiang province, clinched a deal exceeding $20 million with the aid of Alibaba's AI business assistant.

The massive order stemmed from a late-night inquiry by a Saudi buyer on Alibaba.com to the Opec Machinery Equipment Co. The AI assistant received the customer professionally, delving into specifics like equipment usage, logistics details, and purchase purpose.

Xu Jingqian, the company's general manager, marveled at the AI's adeptness, leading to a substantial intention order of $1.96 million from the Saudi buyer after further investigation by the company's sales team. Subsequent communication escalated this to an additional $20 million in orders, finalized during Spring Festival.

Alibaba's AI foreign trade assistant utilizes four AI agents to facilitate goods management, automated customer reception, intelligent global marketing, and real-time compliance risk detection. The company is one of the pioneering users of this AI tool.

"Almost all of our orders are now online. The AI tool has actually helped us make money," said Xu.

The global business landscape is seeing a digital intelligence revolution, empowering small and medium-sized enterprises to capitalize on new opportunities. In Yiwu, the Chinagoods AI Service Platform has integrated Deepseek, leveraging decades of trade data to personalize knowledge bases for operators, amplifying enterprise and brand distinctiveness in international trade.

AI applications are facilitating streamlined business operations and content creation, exemplified by merchants like Sun Lijuan in Yiwu International Trade Market, who have harnessed AI-generated promotional videos to attract new clients and boost sales across international platforms.

Editor: Xu Zhitian