Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) stock rose on Thursday after the company announced the launch of a new artificial intelligence chatbot assistant.

The Chinese e-commerce juggernaut integrated the new chat assistant directly into its Quark app.

Alibaba is strategically repositioning Quark from a simple web browser into its flagship consumer application, enhancing it with AI functions like advanced search capabilities, Reuters reported on Thursday.

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Alibaba stock gained 96% year-to-date as its cloud unit and AI models gain traction.

However, Alibaba has struggled to win market share in the consumer AI space. The company’s previous standalone AI app, Tongyi, failed to gain traction.

To put this in perspective, data from September shows Tongyi had roughly 7 million monthly active users. In comparison, market leader ByteDance’s Doubao has 150 million users, and the tens of millions using assistants from competitors like DeepSeek and Tencent Holding Ltd (OTC:TCEHY).

Alibaba says the new Quark assistant, powered by its latest Qwen3 AI models, offers users superior reasoning and conversational abilities.

Aliababa’s AI Push

Alibaba will also begin pre-sales for its Quark AI Glasses this week. Priced at around $660, the wearable device positions Alibaba to compete against companies like Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in the emerging market for smart glasses.

Analysts see significant growth ahead for Alibaba, pointing to a convergence of powerful catalysts.

Recently, Goldman Sachs analysts identified Alibaba’s overseas expansion as a primary driver, fueled by China’s cost advantages and supply chain strength.

The firm forecasted robust growth in Alibaba’s cloud division, projecting revenue to climb 31% to 38% through fiscal 2028.

Other firms echo this optimism. Daiwa Securities forecasted 30% cloud revenue growth for the second quarter of fiscal 2026. Similarly, China International Capital Corporation (CICC) anticipates 30% cloud growth for the same period.

Price Action: Alibaba shares were up 1.63% at $168.56 during premarket trading on Thursday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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