Chinese tech giant Alibaba has announced the launch of a new language AI model called Tongyi Oiawen.

The technology rivals OpenAI's ChatGPT, which has made waves since launching in November 2022, with the AI developer claiming it is the world's most advanced chatbot.

Alibaba said the new tool will be rolled out across its various business applications, including e-commerce, entertainment, navigation, intelligent voice assistance, search, and enterprise communication to help improve user experience.

The tool will first be integrated into the DingTalk, the company's collaboration workplace and application development platform, and Tmall Genie, a provider of IoT-enabled smart home appliances.

On DingTalk, the technology will be used to summarise meeting notes, turn meeting conversations into text, write emails, and draft business proposals or promotion campaign plans . Users can also instantly create a mini application on DingTalk by photographing a draft idea written on paper.

Alibaba said it will use the AI model to help users of its smart home products to "develop and tell stories to children, provide healthy diet recipes, offer travel tips and recommend background music for a workout".

The move comes after Microsoft announced the launch of Microsoft 365 Copilot, an AI tool designed to help people write and edit, create PowerPoint presentations, and identify trends in Excel spreadsheets.

Copilot, which can also support workers by managing their Outlook inbox and providing summaries of Teams meetings, also uses the same technology as ChatGPT.

Google also recently unveiled a similar chatbot called Bard, which is based on the Language Model for Dialogue Applications (LaMDA) that it launched two years ago.

“We are at a technological watershed moment driven by generative AI and cloud computing, and businesses across all sectors have started to embrace intelligence transformation to stay ahead of the game,” said Daniel Zhang, chairman and chief executive of Alibaba Group and chief executive of Alibaba Cloud Intelligence.

The chief exec added that the company is keen to make computing and AI services more accessible and inclusive for both enterprises and developers.

Alibaba Group recently announced plans to split into six business groups as part of the company’s largest restructuring in its 24-year history.

In a letter to employees, Alibaba’s Zhang said that the shake-up was designed to make the company "more agile".

The business will be divided into: Cloud Intelligence Group, Taobao Tmall Commerce Group, Local Services Group, Cainiao Smart Logistics, Global Digital Commerce Group along with Digital Media and Entertainment Group.

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