Alibaba to Integrate Qwen AI, Transform Taobao Shopping

Alibaba is preparing to unveil the integration of its artificial intelligence platform, Qwen, with the online marketplace Taobao, according to a source familiar with the decision. This strategic move aims to transform shopping experiences by driving consumer interactions through conversations rather than traditional keyword searches.

Credit: QWEN

The integration will enable shoppers to browse, compare, and purchase items directly via the Qwen app. Consumers will interact with the artificial intelligence agent by chatting, eliminating the need to manually navigate extensive product listings.

The Qwen app will gain access to the complete Taobao and Tmall catalogue, encompassing more than 4 billion products. It will also feature a "skills library" designed to manage logistics, and after-sales services efficiently.

Additionally, the Qwen app will provide shopping recommendations tailored to users’ order history and individual preferences. This personalised approach seeks to enhance the overall user experience.

Within Taobao itself, Alibaba plans to launch a dedicated Qwen-powered AI shopping assistant. This assistant will offer a range of tools, including virtual try-ons, and 30-day price tracking.

Alibaba’s push into AI-driven shopping highlights a notable distinction between Chinese and Western e-commerce models. China’s approach allows artificial intelligence to be embedded directly into live transactions.

In contrast, platforms in the United States and Canada are more fragmented in their AI integration. While Amazon has utilised AI to improve shopping within its marketplace, it remains cautious regarding full autonomy.

Canada’s Shopify, another major e-commerce organisation, permits the use of external AI agents. However, it does not operate an integrated consumer AI platform itself, differing from Alibaba's strategy.

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• Alibaba plans to integrate its Qwen AI platform with Taobao to enable conversational shopping.

• The Qwen app will allow users to browse, compare, and purchase items by chatting with an AI agent.

• It will access Taobao and Tmall's catalogue, offering logistics, after-sales services, and personalised recommendations.

Source: REUTERS

Samsung Ends Home Appliance Sales in China Amid AI Business Focus

South Korean technology firm Samsung Electronics has ceased sales of all home appliance products in mainland China. This strategic move follows dwindling market share amid intense competition from domestic rivals and an accelerating pivot towards more profitable semiconductor operations.

Credit: UNSPLASH

Samsung's home appliance portfolio in China included televisions, monitors, air conditioners, refrigerators, washing machines, dryers, vacuum cleaners, and air purifiers. The company stated on its official website that after-sales services would continue as normal, attributing the decision to rapidly changing market conditions.

Smartphone products will remain available for sale in China. However, the world's leading handset maker faces significant challenges competing with local rivals and Apple in the market, with its market share falling from nearly 20% in the early 2010s to less than 1% today, according to IDC data.

Samsung's withdrawal from the Chinese home appliance market aligns with a broader strategic shift towards its lucrative semiconductor business. The company has faced consistent pressure from lower-cost and increasingly sophisticated Chinese brands.

Earnings have soared recently amid the global artificial intelligence boom, which drives demand for memory products. Samsung reported revenues of 133.87 trillion won (US$92.3 billion) and an operating profit of 57.23 trillion won for the first quarter of 2026, exceeding its earnings for the whole of last year.

The firm’s share price in Seoul has increased 107% this year, with Samsung’s market capitalisation reaching a record high of 1,710.8 trillion won. Its memory business recorded quarterly sales of 74.8 trillion won, a 292% increase year on year.

This growth was driven by surging demand for high-performance memory products used in AI infrastructure. Continued increases in average selling prices also contributed, due to tight supply.

Samsung’s Device Solutions division, which encompasses its semiconductor operations including memory and foundry businesses, accounted for 61% of the company’s total revenue in the quarter. In contrast, its television and home appliance business generated 14.3 trillion won in revenue, representing approximately 11% of the group’s total sales.

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• Samsung Electronics has stopped selling home appliance products in mainland China.

• The decision is due to intense local competition and a strategic pivot towards its semiconductor business.

• Smartphone sales will continue in China despite a significant drop in market share.

Source: SCMP

OpenAI Unveils Real-Time Audio Models for Conversational AI

OpenAI is set to introduce three audio models for its developer platform on Thursday, May 7, 2026, which are designed to make voice-based software agents more conversational and capable of completing tasks in real time. The launch of the application programming interface (API) moves the ChatGPT-maker beyond transcription and chat, toward agents that can listen, translate, and act during live conversations.

Credit: OPENAI

These new models enable agents that can listen, translate, and act during live conversations. The models are GPT-Realtime-2, GPT-Realtime-Translate, and GPT-Realtime-Whisper.

OpenAI stated the models are available to test in its developer playground. GPT-Realtime-2 manages harder requests, calls tools, handles interruptions, and maintains context across longer voice sessions.

GPT-Realtime-Translate supports translation from more than 70 languages into 13 output languages. This model targets customer support, education, and other settings.

GPT-Realtime-Whisper provides live speech-to-text functionality. This allows captions, meeting notes, and workflow updates to be generated as a speaker talks.

Customers testing the models include online real estate marketplace Zillow, online travel agency Priceline, and European telecommunications firm Deutsche Telekom.

Pricing for GPT-Realtime-2 starts at USD 32 per million audio input tokens. GPT-Realtime-Translate costs USD 0.034 per minute, and GPT-Realtime-Whisper is USD 0.017 per minute.

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• OpenAI introduced three new audio models: GPT-Realtime-2, GPT-Realtime-Translate, and GPT-Realtime-Whisper.

• These models are designed to enable real-time, conversational voice-based software agents.

• Key functionalities include managing complex requests, translating over 70 languages, and live speech-to-text.

Source: REUTERS