Alibaba Group Holding Limited (BABA) is making a serious play to catch up in the consumer AI race, and this time they're bringing their A-game. The company just rolled out Qwen, a significantly upgraded chatbot that's now available as a free mobile and web app in China. An international version is reportedly on the way.

Here's what makes this launch interesting: Qwen doesn't just chat. Users can ask it to whip up complete research reports and full PowerPoint presentations on the spot. It's positioning itself as a powerful personal AI assistant, currently in public beta, according to Reuters reporting on Tuesday.

The timing matters. Alibaba's AI push has helped the company rack up an impressive 87% gain in stock value year to date, contributing to its $376 billion valuation. But the Chinese AI market has turned into something of a bloodbath lately, especially after low-cost rival DeepSeek triggered an industry-wide price war.

This isn't Alibaba's first rodeo with consumer AI tools. The company previously offered the Tongyi app and built AI features into its Quark browser, but neither gained much traction. Tongyi had just under 7 million monthly active users in September, which sounds respectable until you realize that leaders like ByteDance's Doubao and DeepSeek each boast tens of millions more users.

So what's different this time? Analysts think Qwen could become China's version of a "super-app" for the AI era, much like Tencent Holding Ltd's (TCEHY) WeChat transformed how people use smartphones. Powered by Alibaba Cloud's homegrown Qwen AI models, the consumer app shot into the top five free apps on Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) store in both Hong Kong and mainland China during just its second day of beta testing.

Alibaba is pitching Qwen as an all-in-one personal AI assistant capable of handling everything from work assignments to daily tasks, from deep research to creating images and slide decks. The company wants Qwen to evolve beyond a simple chatbot into an "everything app" that fundamentally changes how people interact with digital services, Beijing-based tech analyst Poe Zhao told SCMP.

The company does have one massive advantage here: its ecosystem already spans shopping, payments, food delivery, mapping, and entertainment. That's a lot of potential integration points for an AI assistant.

Looking ahead, Alibaba plans to roll out Qwen globally, setting up a direct competition with ChatGPT to define what the future "everything app" looks like.

"If Alibaba executes well, Qwen could set the standard for AI-powered apps—not just in China, but worldwide," Zhao said.

BABA Price Action: Alibaba Group Holding shares were up 0.12% at $157.91 at the time of publication on Tuesday.