On September 11, at the 2026 Inclusion · Bund Conference in Shanghai, Zhao Xin Yi, CEO of Ant Group, stated in a keynote speech that the "ChatGPT moment" for intelligent agent commerce has arrived. The key change is that intelligent agents are moving from "capability demonstration" to "real transactions." Intelligent agents are no longer just tools for answering questions or generating content but are becoming new commercial entry points that understand user needs, connect real supply, and drive transactions to completion.

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User Needs Are Shifting From Inquiry to Transaction Entry

Zhao Xin Yi believes that user behavior is changing. At the end of 2022, ChatGPT gave the global public their first direct experience of the leap in natural language human-computer interaction. The landmark change in intelligent agent commerce is that users are beginning to entrust their real-life needs to intelligent agents.

This June, AI Alipay's "Abao" entered public beta testing. Users can let an intelligent agent handle tasks and place orders with just one sentence, such as: "Budget of 200 yuan, five people eating, where is it affordable and delicious?" or "Can it design a short hairdo based on my face shape?" or "Help plan a trip to Shaoxing and buy a high-speed rail ticket." These needs involve budget, location, preferences, time, trust, and fulfillment expectations, which are not just information queries but early expressions of transaction intent.

Intelligent agent commerce refers to the market and commercial form based on intelligent agents as the medium of interaction.

Zhao Xin Yi pointed out that when user behavior changes, the starting point of commerce is also changing. Previously, commerce mostly started with standardized products and fixed pages, relying on advertising, exposure, and traffic operations to reach users. In the era of intelligent agent commerce, commerce will start from user intent, dynamically organize supply, match services, and complete transactions around what users really want to achieve. In the future, the competition among merchants will not be just about traffic and positioning, but whether they can be accurately understood by user intelligent agents, and whether they can become the most trusted, most matching, and most reliable service providers.

On August 17 this year, Zhao Xin Yi had already made a prediction at the Alipay AI ecosystem conference that intelligent agent commerce would explode within 6-12 months.

From Keyword Competition to Intention Competition, the Starting Point of Commerce Is Changing

In recent months, the transaction data of AI payments in intelligent agents has also verified this trend.

Data provided by Zhu Lin, General Manager of Ant Group's AI Payment, shows that with the explosive growth of the AI industry and the popularity of intelligent terminals, it is expected that in the next five years, the proportion of more natural new interactive payments could exceed 50%, and diversified smart device payments could increase tenfold.

Zhao Xin Yi pointed out that to promote the large-scale development of intelligent agent commerce, the industry must answer three fundamental questions: How can services be understood and called by intelligent agents? Can intelligent agents help users complete transactions? If a transaction occurs, who should authorize it, who should manage risks, and who should be responsible?

This means that intelligent agent commerce is not simply moving the transaction entrance forward, but integrating demand, supply, payment, risk control, and fulfillment into a complete chain. Only when intelligent agents can convert "what I want" into "who can provide, how to confirm, and how to complete," will the commercial loop truly be established.

In traditional business models, supply is often produced first and then reached through marketing. Intelligent agent commerce offers another path: demand can be understood, aggregated, and verified first, then supply can be organized in reverse. This is similar to the "demand commitment" mechanism validated by crowdfunding platforms, but intelligent agents have the potential to further improve efficiency: user intelligent agents capture personalized demands, merchant intelligent agents express supply capabilities, payment intelligent agents complete transaction collaboration within authorized boundaries, and supply chain intelligent agents organize fulfillment based on demand signals.

This means that demand, supply, and transactions are no longer isolated but dynamically matched within a trusted network.

Payment Becomes a Trusted Commitment Engine, Driving the Supply Ecosystem Cycle

When intelligent agents begin to enter transactions, the underlying infrastructure must also be upgraded. Zhao Xin Yi pointed out that when intelligent agents act, they must answer several key questions: Who does the agent represent, what is the authorization boundary, is the transaction safe, and how are fund safety and fraud risks managed? Who is responsible if problems arise?

Therefore, intelligent agent commerce requires new "highway facilities": trustworthy identity for intelligent agents, clear authorization, payment capability, risk control, transaction evidence, fulfillment proof, and after-sales dispute resolution. In traditional commerce, payment usually occurs in the final stage, but in intelligent agent commerce, payment will participate throughout the entire transaction process. From the very first moment a user expresses a need, the authorized amount, executable scope, risk assessment, and fulfillment responsibility must be clearly managed.

Zhao Xin Yi said that the value of AI payment is not just letting intelligent agents spend money on behalf of users, nor is it simple automatic deductions. Instead, it serves as a trusted commitment engine in intelligent agent commerce. It must make the entire process authorized, manageable, controllable, and traceable, allowing users to feel confident in delegating tasks, enabling merchants to confidently join, and helping platforms and service providers build a sustainable ecosystem together.

Regarding the construction of the intelligent agent commerce ecosystem, Alipay also proposed using product tools, platform distribution, and commercial loops to stimulate supply and encourage the discovery of user needs.

At the event, Zhao Xin Yi announced that Alipay has established a 10 million yuan development fund for life intelligent agent developers, with the highest annual single reward reaching 1 million yuan. Zhao Xin Yi said that intelligent agent commerce is not something one company can accomplish alone. Alipay hopes to work with merchants, service providers, and partners to make supply more understandable, callable, and fulfillable, and to turn industry experience into reusable intelligent capabilities.