Ant Group CEO predicts surge in AI agent-powered commerce within 6-12 months

During Alipay's AI ecosystem partners conference in Hangzhou, Ant Group CEO and executive director Han Xin Yi stated that AI agent-based commerce should experience a commercial surge within 6 to 12 months. According to him, this critical inflection point results from the convergence of three main factors. The first is AI technology advancement, with improvements in agent reasoning, execution, and tool-calling capabilities, alongside continuous enhancement for handling complex long-duration tasks. The second factor is a shift in market demand: as easy traffic-based gains fade, businesses now need to extract efficiency from existing traffic to achieve growth. The third is the consolidation of a sustainable value cycle, in which improvements in capabilities and efficiency translate directly into increased conversion rates and cost management for merchants. Han Xin Yi joined Ant Group in May 2014, serving as senior director, vice president, and CFO before becoming president in March 2024 and CEO in March 2025. Previously, he worked at Alibaba Group in mergers and acquisitions and at banking investment firms.