(Yicai) Sept. 13 -- Taobao, an online retail site owned by China’s Alibaba Group Holding, is internally testing a ChatGPT-like artificial intelligence large language model called Taobao Wenwen that can make product recommendations more accurate.

Users can apply to take part in the testing by searching ‘Taobao Wenwen’ on the Taobao app or through an invitation code. The platform’s Hangzhou-based operator has not revealed when the AI feature will be launched officially.

Shoppers can input what they are looking to buy or ask questions and Taobao Wenwen will help them describe their needs more accurately. The LLM can also output text, image, video, audio, and other information for better product recommendations such as what kind of equipment to pack on a camping trip.

Taobao Wenwen is not emotionally intelligent as yet, and the output results do not represent Taobao's official recommendations of goods or content.

Alibaba also announced today that its Tongyi Qianwen, unveiled in April, will officially open to the public as one of China's first LLMs meeting sector-wide registration requirements. Other Alibaba apps such as enterprise communication platform DingTalk, e-commerce app Tmall, navigation tool Amap, video platform Youku, and supermarket chain FreshHippo will also make use of LLMs.

Eddie Wu, who became Alibaba’s new chief executive on Sept. 10, said in an internal letter to staff yesterday that going forward the tech giant needs to be “user first” and “AI-driven.”

Editor: Emmi Laine