Ant Group CEO: AI Agents Are Ready to Shop for You

At the 2026 Inclusion · Bund Conference in Shanghai, Ant Group CEO Han Xinyi delivered a keynote that felt less like a tech update and more like a peek into the near future. His message was direct: the "ChatGPT moment" for intelligent agent commerce has arrived. That means AI agents are no longer just answering questions or generating content—they're closing deals.

From "What's the weather?" to "Book me a table"

Han points to a clear shift in user behavior. Back in late 2022, ChatGPT gave the world its first real taste of natural language interaction. Now, users are handing real-life tasks to AI agents. Since June, AI Alipay's assistant "Abao" has been in public beta. People type things like: "200 yuan, five people, where can we eat well?" or "Can you design a short haircut based on my face shape?" or "Plan a trip to Shaoxing and buy a high-speed rail ticket."

These aren't simple search queries. They carry budget, location, preference, time, trust, and fulfillment expectations—early expressions of real transaction intent. As Han puts it, commerce is shifting from standardized products and fixed pages to something far more fluid: user intent.

In the old model, merchants competed for traffic and exposure. In the new era, they'll compete for one thing: being the most trusted, most matching, most reliable service provider that a user's AI agent can understand and call upon.

The starting point of commerce is moving

Han first predicted this explosion at Alipay's AI ecosystem conference in August, saying agent commerce would take off within 6–12 months. Recent data backs him up. Zhu Lin, General Manager of Ant Group's AI Payment, expects that within five years, more natural new interactive payments could exceed 50% of transactions, with diversified smart device payments growing tenfold.

But scaling agent commerce isn't just about moving the checkout button. Han argues the industry must answer three fundamental questions:

How can services be understood and called by agents?
Can agents actually complete transactions for users?
When a transaction happens, who authorizes it, who manages risk, and who's responsible?

In other words, demand, supply, payment, risk control, and fulfillment must merge into one seamless chain. Only when an agent can turn "what I want" into "who can provide it, how to confirm, and how to complete it" does the commercial loop truly close.

Payment becomes a trust engine

When agents start buying things, the infrastructure needs an upgrade. Who does the agent represent? What's the authorization boundary? Is the transaction safe? Who handles fraud? Who's liable if something goes wrong?

Han says agent commerce needs new "highway facilities": trustworthy identity, clear authorization, payment capability, risk control, transaction evidence, fulfillment proof, and after-sales dispute resolution. Unlike traditional commerce, where payment happens at the end, agent commerce weaves payment throughout the entire journey—from the first moment a user expresses a need.

The value of AI payment, Han explains, isn't just letting an agent spend on your behalf. It's a trusted commitment engine that makes every step authorized, manageable, controllable, and traceable. Users feel confident delegating. Merchants feel confident joining. Platforms and service providers build a sustainable ecosystem together.

Putting money behind the ecosystem

Alipay isn't just talking. The company announced a 10 million yuan development fund for life agent developers, with single rewards reaching up to 1 million yuan annually. Han emphasizes that agent commerce isn't a solo sport. Alipay wants merchants, service providers, and partners to make supply more understandable, callable, and fulfillable—turning industry experience into reusable intelligent capabilities.

Key Points

AI agents are moving from answering questions to completing transactions.
User behavior is shifting from search queries to intent-driven delegation.
Agent commerce requires a full chain: demand, supply, payment, risk, and fulfillment.
AI payment acts as a trusted commitment engine, not just an automatic deduction.
Alipay launched a 10 million yuan fund to fuel life agent developers.

Ant Group CEO: AI Agents Are Ready to Shop for You