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Alipay has crossed a symbolic threshold in the evolution of digital payments.
Alipay’s Agentic Commerce
The company revealed that its agentic commerce, AI Pay platform processed more than 120 million transactions in a single week, positioning it as the first large-scale “agentic” payment service to reach such volume.
The milestone underscores how quickly artificial intelligence is being woven into China’s consumer economy — not merely as a recommendation engine, but as a transactional actor.
Launched in 2025, AI Pay enables AI agents embedded within apps, mini-programmes and smart devices to initiate and complete payments securely on behalf of users.
Rather than navigating checkout pages or manually confirming transfers, consumers can instruct an AI assistant in natural language to complete a purchase. The payment becomes a seamless extension of conversation.
From Coffee Orders to Smart Glasses
The technology is already embedded in diverse use cases. Brick-and-mortar retailers such as Luckin Coffee have integrated AI agents capable of taking and processing orders.
Beyond smartphones, AI Pay has expanded to wearable technology, including smart glasses developed by Rokid.
In late 2025, Alipay worked with Rokid to enable developers to incorporate AI payment functionality into agents built on Rokid’s Lingzhu platform.
Using a model-based protocol, developers can deploy payment capabilities through natural-language prompts rather than traditional coding. The result is an in-agent checkout experience that feels conversational rather than transactional.
The Emergence of Agentic Commerce Protocols
Momentum accelerated further in January 2026 with the launch of the Agentic Commerce Trust Protocol.
Developed alongside partners including Alibaba’s Qwen App and Taobao Instant Commerce, the framework allows AI applications to connect directly to commerce platforms and payment rails.
Qwen became the first to adopt the protocol, enabling users to order food and beverages simply by chatting with its AI interface.
This shift reflects changing consumer expectations. As digital services become more intelligent, payment must become equally frictionless — embedded within dialogue rather than appended at the end of it.
Tap-Based Payments Reach Critical Mass
Alongside AI Pay, Alipay’s Tap! contactless solution is also scaling rapidly. Daily transactions exceeded 100 million in January 2026. With a simple phone tap — or even a voice command via smart glasses — users can pay, unlock shared bikes or collect parcels without opening an app.
More than 200 million consumers have used Tap! since launch. In China’s fast-moving payments market, AI-driven commerce is no longer experimental. It is operational at national scale.
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