Alibaba Group said on Thursday it unveiled a major update to its consumer AI application, the Qwen app.

The company said the update expands Qwen beyond a simple conversational interface into a system that can autonomously carry out end-to-end tasks. Users can place food orders, make in-chat payments, plan and book travel itineraries, call stores and handle multi-step work through a single voice or text request without switching apps or taking separate manual steps.

The Qwen app links key services including Taobao, Taobao Instant Commerce, Alipay, Fliggy and Amap through a single AI interface to coordinate functions across platforms. The company said this allows users to move naturally from intent entry to execution and completion.

The feature will be offered as a public test in China.

Wu Jia, a vice president at Alibaba Group, said AI is evolving from intelligence to agency that executes actions. He said the Qwen app, deeply connected to real-world services, shows Alibaba's approach to next-generation AI applications. He added that it aims not only for strong performance but also AI that is genuinely helpful in daily life, and that the goal is to let users entrust repetitive tasks to an intelligent assistant they can rely on by providing these functions for free.