Alipay has upgraded its contactless merchant devices into an offline business operations network powered by AI agents.
The company is connecting its conversational AI assistant, Xiaoyu, to 30 million Alipay Tap devices.
This deployment allows offline businesses and small merchants to run digital operations, review business analysis, and coordinate marketing activities through conversational interactions with the assistant at their terminals.
Voice-driven merchant operations
The upgrade expands the capabilities of the device beyond standard payment acceptance by adding AI-driven management features.
Merchants can speak to the assistant to receive intelligent analysis of their operations. They can also track top-selling products and manage consumer membership systems.
For small and medium-sized merchants that lack internal AI development capabilities, the integrated offering generates tailored marketing materials. It also delivers continuous business analytics.
The system integrates with Taobao Instant Commerce to support fast ordering and delivery services. These services are supported by established supply chains.
Independent software vendors and developers can also connect their own software-as-a-service agents and business operation skills to the network.
Infrastructure for agentic commerce
This offline rollout follows the introduction of a full-stack AI payment infrastructure by Alipay earlier this year.
In May 2026, the company deployed a technical infrastructure for AI-powered payments. It includes automated payment processing, user wallets, and Token Pay.
These systems operate under China’s first Agentic Commerce Trust Protocol. The protocol uses development partnerships and an intelligent security system to safeguard AI-driven transactions.
Adoption of AI-powered commerce is increasing. Transactions processed through the infrastructure exceeded 300 million as of May 2026.
Commercial brands are already connecting these payment layers with local hardware. Consumers can tap their smartphones at a merchant terminal to activate brand-specific software assistants.
These assistants allow them to view personalised product recommendations, place orders, and complete transactions through the automated payment network.
The business network expansion builds on a consumer application update that introduced the digital assistant Ah Bao.
The launch positioned the platform as what the company describes as the world’s first super-app to evolve into an AI-native platform for its one billion users.
For fintech participants and regulators tracking regional developments, the rollout highlights how point-of-sale terminal networks are evolving into AI-powered commercial ecosystems.
Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Hong Kong, based on image by thanyakij-12 via Magnific
