Alibaba International today announced the next iteration in the evolution of its B2B search engine Accio, with the addition of the world’s first AI Agent for global trade. ‘Accio Agent’ has been released following Accio’s milestone of surpassing two million users. This leap marks Accio’s evolution from an AI-powered sourcing tool into a fully agentic AI platform.
According to Alibaba International’s latest survey of product-focused entrepreneurs, 40% of small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) from around the world are now run by solo entrepreneurs who face tight constraints on time, resources and manpower. Accio Agent tackles this challenge by compressing tasks which typically require days of cross-team collaboration into workflows completed in minutes.
Redefining global trade workflow
Accio Agent revolutionizes international commerce by automating 70% of traditionally manual workflows, compressing fragmented processes including product ideation, prototyping, compliance checks and supplier sourcing into a seamless, AI-powered cycle.
Here’s how it works: Users start by inputting a product concept. The system instantly generates a tailored development plan, complete with market insights, regulatory guidelines and design specifications. With a single approval from the user, Accio Agent takes over conducting real-time supplier vetting, bulk RFQs and comparative analyses, and delivers a finalized, production-ready roadmap. One final click sends inquiries directly to pre-vetted global sellers listed on Alibaba’s b2b e-marketplace Alibaba.com, enabling b2b buyers to quickly decide on the right choice of supplier for them.
By slashing weeks of research and sourcing coordination into minutes, Accio Agent empowers SMEs and solo entrepreneurs to outpace traditional teams, turning fragmented workflows into a unified sprint from concept to global supply chain.
When AI meets industry depth
Trained on 1 billion product listings and 50 million supplier profiles, Accio Agent revolutionizes global trade with AI that merges deep industry insights and strategic reasoning.
Unlike general AI agents, Accio Agent leverages advanced language models to evaluate customer feedback and supplier performance, uncovering hidden strengths like specialized customization capabilities. It also emulates expert procurement logic, assessing technical needs, risks and business objectives to balance critical trade-offs such as quality versus cost or innovation versus compliance.
Kuo Zhang, vice president of Alibaba International, shared: “Accio Agent is a highly practical tool which solves a multitude of problems for businesses sourcing globally. It’s an AI agent designed to help you do business. It can handle multiple tasks simultaneously, operating like a team of dedicated professionals – sourcing agents, product developers, engineers, and market researchers – all working together to grow your business.”
AI in the e-commerce market is valued at USD 7.68 billion in 2025 and is expected reach USD 37.69 billion by 2032, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25.5% from 2025 to 2032, according to Coherent research. Global trade hit a record $33 trillion in 2024, according to UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
Accio’s evolution into Agent AI underscores Alibaba International’s commitment to redefining global trade through innovation. By automating complex workflows and delivering actionable insights, Accio enables businesses to navigate international b2b sourcing with newfound confidence and agility.
Accio Agent is now available at Accio.com by switching to “Agent Mode”.
