Alipay has launched a new AI payment processing product in mainland China, allowing merchants to accept payments directly from autonomous AI agents.

The tool targets SMBs, including single-person companies. It removes the requirement to build complex settlement systems.

Businesses can onboard their monetisable services and receive funds automatically when an AI agent purchases them on behalf of a user.

The rollout is designed to support the growth of agentic commerce.

This emerging sector involves AI programmes executing routine tasks such as booking travel, comparing prices, allocating computing power, and buying digital tokens.

Bocha, an AI search tool that supports applications including DeepSeek, has already adopted the Alipay AI payment product.

The integration turns advanced web search capabilities into a standard pay-per-use service.

Bocha has deployed its paid skill on AI agents such as Alipay Tbox and Hermes Agent. The service currently handles more than 30 million daily API calls.

After a user installs the skill on their AI agent, they can make a verbal request.

The AI agent calculates the fee and waits for the user to confirm the transaction using the consumer-facing Alipay AI Pay tool.

This business-focused infrastructure follows the 2025 launch of Alipay AI Pay for consumers.

According to Ant Group, the consumer product surpassed 100 million users in February 2026 and processed over 120 million transactions in a single week.

The consumer service handles transactions through voice commands. Its adoption currently spans physical retailers like Luckin Coffee, hardware such as Rokid smart glasses, and consumer applications including Alibaba’s Qwen.

Featured image credit: Alipay