Accio from Alibaba reaches 500,000 SME users

New Alibaba search engine transforms global supply chains with smart search and AI

New York, January 6, 2025 - Accio, Alibaba International's new business-to-business (B2B) search engine, has reached a milestone after its launch in November 2024. More than 500,000 SMEs worldwide are already using the platform to find suitable suppliers faster and optimize their purchasing processes. This success demonstrates the growing importance of artificial intelligence (AI) in the retail sector.

New search changes procurement processes

Accio stands out from conventional search platforms thanks to its AI-supported natural language processing capability. Users can enter complex queries in natural language instead of relying on keywords. This makes the search engine user-friendly and enables more accurate results.

The platform covers more than 7,600 product categories and catalogs millions of suppliers worldwide. Over 200 million industry-specific parameters have been taken into account for data-based optimization. The database enables buyers to find exactly the products and partners they need, driving the digital transformation of the supply chain.

Hands on Accio

Accio's user experience is clearly modeled on established B2C platforms widely used in e-commerce, adopting many design and navigation principles directly from its parent company Alibaba. Although the platform already supports several languages, there are still limitations in the in-house language model Tongyi Qianwen for native-speaking users. These manifest themselves in less precise search results or bumpy formulations that do not yet fully exploit the potential of the otherwise innovative AI-supported search.

Even if the goal is self-optimization through AI, a major global corporation could have left the translation of the basic navigation to a Muttler linguist. Threads become threads and you want to save instead of saving. This would be excusable for individual product descriptions given the size of the database, but for a constantly visible navigation it unnecessarily costs trust. The search engine supports English, German, French, Spanish and Portuguese.

According to Alibaba, users report that Accio has helped them to source more efficiently and in a more targeted manner. The platform received a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of over 50, an indicator of high customer satisfaction and willingness to recommend.

The future of global trade: sourcing with AI

Alibaba International is launching Accio at a time of profound change in global commerce. With features such as a dynamic user interface for product comparisons and the "Accio Agent", which tracks requests and payments, the platform makes the sourcing landscape more efficient and transparent.

Accio is ushering in a new era of AI-powered global trade, where companies of all sizes can source more competitively, cost-efficiently and sustainably. The platform not only provides access to a huge database, but also tools that optimize the entire sourcing process.

Conclusion

With its rapid growth and clear technological leadership, Accio is setting new standards in global B2B trade. The platform is an example of how artificial intelligence is transforming the business world and offering SMEs the same opportunities as large corporations. Even if the start still feels bumpy and there are a few hiccups in one corner or another, the user numbers speak for themselves.