Building on the release of a full-stack AI payment system and the AI version of Alipay "Abao", Alipay announced on July 8 that "Touch and Pay" has completed its AI upgrade: the millions of "Touch and Pay" devices on the merchant side have been upgraded to "Touch Device Agent", while also launching the "Touch Everything Agent" service platform for small and medium-sized merchants and the "AI Open Base". After two years of development, "Touch and Pay" has 400 million users, 2,300 ecological service providers, and over 30 million offline AI touchpoints, forming the world's first large-scale offline AI business network.

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After the upgrade, "Touch and Pay" can connect online Agents with offline scenarios. Users can run Skill services such as coupons and special coupons by touching the merchant's "Touch and Pay" device with their phone, while the offline AI touchpoints of "Touch and Pay" can enter agent services in cultural and creative, scenic spots, travel, medical care, and other areas with a single touch. The AI upgrade of "Touch and Pay" has broken the boundary between the physical world and AI Agents, becoming a new simple entry point for users to interact with Agents.

It is also the latest progress in "Touch and Pay"'s "three-year three jumps": the first year optimized payment convenience, the second year became an offline new service entrance, and the third year stepped into the new offline AI business entrance for merchants.

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30 Million Offline Touchpoints' AI Leap, Merchant Agent "Xiaoyu" Launched

The Largest Offline AI Business Network Helps Merchants Enter the AI Business Era

Since Alipay launched "Touch and Pay" in July 2024, it has deployed millions of Alipay "Touch and Pay" smart devices and tens of millions of "Touch and Pay" touchpoints for offline merchants in two years. This is the largest AI intelligent node on the merchant side so far.

Based on this intelligent network, Alipay launched the industry's first merchant "Touch Device Agent" Xiaoyu, which integrates payment, membership, marketing, delivery, and store traffic distribution services into this offline AI network.

On this basis, "Xiaoyu" also opens up new Skills such as Alipay subsidies, cashback rewards, government subsidies, special coupons, membership management, product marketing, Taobao flash sales, and Gaode street sweep rankings, helping merchants create new growth in physical commerce.

"Xiaoyu" can achieve multi-terminal interaction on "Touch and Pay" devices, POS machines, and mobile phones. Merchants can simply communicate with "Xiaoyu" to complete the entire chain of services from store data analysis to business strategy upgrades, allowing stores to operate intelligently with AI assistance and minimal human verification. This effectively solves long-standing issues such as lack of digital marketing touchpoints, weak data mining capabilities, and fragmentation between in-store and online operations.

At the same time, this offline AI business network is also open. It provides SaaS lightweight integration, SaaS intelligent agents, and merchant business skill development components for all industry merchants, service providers, and developers, promoting AI services to move beyond the digital world and become a new productive force in commerce.

The Entry Ticket for Small and Medium-Sized Merchants to the AI Era: "Touch Everything Agent" Service

Quickly Enter the "AI Business Network"

Direct access to AI Agents through "Touch and Pay" has become the new standard. Previously, Hangzhou East Station introduced "Touch and Pay" to directly access the "Hangxiao Dong" intelligent agent, which allows users to check parking information and ride-hailing dynamics. The Shanghai Social Security Center started "Touch and Pay" for government affairs, entering the "seamless touch" era.

Can small and medium-sized merchants without technical development capabilities quickly enter the "AI era"? Alipay's answer is the "Touch Everything Agent" service — tell it your needs, and it will handle the rest.

The "Touch Everything Agent" service integrates three AI capabilities, equivalent to equipping each small and medium-sized merchant with a professional team available at any time:

l AI Creative Designer: Generate visually appealing and conversion-effective touch materials in seconds;

l AI Manufacturing Expert: Based on a mature supply chain, intelligently recommend from over 300 material specifications to achieve fast ordering and delivery;

l AI Touch Manager: Online 24/7, responsible for data tracking, intelligent analysis, and revenue settlement.

The "Touch Everything Agent" service covers the entire chain with AI. Each "Touch and Pay" AI touchpoint thus becomes a merchant's agent entrance, directly reaching users and establishing exclusive agent services. Even the smallest merchants can enter the AI era with the lowest threshold.

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"Touch and Pay" Industry Solutions and Native New Species Launch

Help Offline Scenarios Upgrade with AI

Alipay's offline AI business network continues to expand, covering various industries including catering, convenience stores, supermarkets, shopping malls, scenic spots, hotels, property management, transportation, refueling, charging, pickup, and exhibitions.

Partners such as Green Town, Amber, Fenjiu, Sinopec, 31 Meetings, Haier, and Penguin have successively launched "Touch and Pay" industry solutions under AI business scenarios, adding new momentum to industry development.

Since its launch two years ago, the user base of "Touch and Pay" has grown from zero to 400 million, making the "Touch and Pay" action a user-native interaction habit. This has further improved the offline service experience, leading to the emergence of many "Touch and Pay native new species."

Companies such as Cao Cao Charging, Tushan Chong, Shenzhou Zhaocai Bao, Sunwang Technology, Sandu Technology, Nuoxing Technology, and China Post have separately introduced new products based on "Touch and Pay" interactions, such as smart charging for ride-hailing, smart game warehouses, solar AI umbrellas, portable WiFi, and smart postcards.

Merchants and service providers are continuously exploring the deep integration of "Touch and Pay" with AI capabilities, turning every "touch" interaction into new growth for offline operations.

"Touch and Pay" Connects with "AI Payment"

Complete Offline and Online Business Cycle

With Alipay's AI payment transactions exceeding 300 million, AI transactions have become a new trend in merchant operations. Companies like Haier have successfully connected the transaction process from Alipay's "Touch and Pay" to "AI Payment": users "touch and pay" to activate the merchant's intelligent agent, which handles product introductions, package recommendations, inquiries, and orders, and finally completes authorization and payment through Alipay's "AI Payment", which is simple, secure, and trustworthy throughout the process.

To address the core needs of merchants for AI marketing conversion growth, Alipay officially launched the AI Marketing Suite (AI Makerting Suite). Merchants can offer their own services based on these foundational capabilities, accurately meeting user pre-sales, rush purchase, and repurchase demands, effectively improving user conversion and retention rates in AI scenarios.

To reduce the AI development barriers for merchants, Alipay also launched a virtual resource supply platform. Developers only need to submit their development needs in AI programming to access cloud resources, APIs, and Skills in one stop, easily integrating into Alipay's AI payment capabilities and efficiently completing application development.