- Conversational interface replaces menu-heavy navigation for thousands of services
- Payments and financial assets remain under separate user-controlled safeguards
Ant Group has rolled out the biggest redesign in Alipay’s nearly two-decade history, launching an AI-focused version of China’s dominant payments app that replaces layers of menus with a conversational assistant named “Ah Bao.”
The new version, unveiled on June 16, is being released through an invitation-only testing program before a broader rollout.
From menus to prompts
Users can access the AI interface with a swipe and complete a range of tasks through natural-language prompts rather than navigating through multiple service pages.
The redesign reduces the app’s main interface to two core sections: Ah Bao and Assets.
Instead of searching for services manually, users can ask the assistant to perform tasks or surface the relevant service directly.
For example, a request to check housing provident fund balances will bring up the relevant service entry, while a query about nearby EV charging stations can generate a list of locations, charging availability and pricing based on authorized location data.
While Alipay is introducing AI-driven service navigation, it is drawing a clear line around financial decision-making.
Money stays under user control
Funds previously spread across products such as Yu’e Bao and other savings tools are now consolidated into a unified personal asset dashboard, but financial transactions remain outside the assistant’s control.
“Ah Bao helps users get things done, but it won’t move their money,” said Li Jun, president of Ant Group’s Alipay business unit. “Any payment or transaction involving fund transfers must be confirmed by the user.
“Control of funds will always remain in the hands of users, and our promise that ‘if you dare to pay, we dare to compensate’ remains unchanged,” the executive said.
Ant Group will continue to offer both the traditional and AI versions of Alipay, allowing users to switch between the two interfaces.
The launch reflects a broader shift from the mobile internet era toward AI-native applications and could lower the barriers to using AI-powered services, said Cheng Hua, deputy director of the Digital Economy Research Center at Renmin University of China.
The race to become users’ digital concierge
The redesign also marks Ant’s latest push into AI-powered consumer products as China’s internet giants race to integrate AI agents into their flagship platforms.
Rather than asking users to navigate a growing list of services, the new approach aims to let the software interpret intent and complete tasks on the user’s behalf.
“Alipay has always focused on shortening the distance between users and services through technology,” Li said. “Today, we hope AI can help explore the best path to everyday services for more than a billion users, turning AI from a productivity tool for a few into a daily assistant for many.”
