(Yicai) Feb. 5 -- Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba Group Holding, has met with the project team behind its Qwen artificial intelligence assistant before the start of the Chinese internet giant’s cash incentives push for the Lunar New Year, heightening the tension around the battle for consumer-AI entry points that the country’s tech champions are preparing.

Ma, who stepped down as Alibaba chairman in 2019, visited the Qwen project office late yesterday accompanied by the Hangzhou-based company's longtime partner Shao Xiaofeng, according to photos posted online by employees. “Qwen C-end Business Group” could be seen in the background of the shots.

The business group was formed last December by the merger of Alibaba’s intelligent information and intelligent interconnection divisions. Led directly by Vice President Wu Jia, it oversees products including Qwen and the AI-driven consumer super-workbench Quark.

The primary aim of Qwen’s Chinese New Year campaign is to deliver an excellent user experience and encourage adoption, Wu has said, adding that Alibaba expects AI to bring a wide range of new everyday services.

Qwen unveiled CNY3 billion (USD420 million) of cash incentives on Feb. 3 to drive downloads and encourage use of its AI-powered shopping features over the upcoming holiday. In addition, it will launch its Spring Festival Treat Plan tomorrow, aiming to attract more consumers to use the AI shopping function by offering free orders.

This year the Lunar New Year holiday period, known as the Spring Festival in China, runs from Feb. 15 to 23.

Alibaba has embedded Qwen throughout its ecosystem, linking services such as Taobao, Alipay, Tmall Flash Buy, Fliggy, Amap, Youku and Freshippo. Through a single command, users can order food, book flights, shop, stream video content, and receive travel guidance, positioning Qwen as a unified front end for Alibaba’s core consumer businesses.

Qwen has also announced that it will be the exclusive sponsor of Lunar New Year galas on local satellite television stations in Shanghai as well as the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Henan. It will incorporate AI-generated video, image recognition, and AI question-and-answer features into the broadcasts. Viewers will be able to interact with the app and receive cash “red envelopes” for taking part.

Red envelopes, or hongbao in Chinese, are a traditional way of gifting cash in China, particularly during major holidays.

Other tech giants also plan to ramp up promotion of their AI assistants over the holiday. TikTok owner ByteDance's cloud computing unit Volcano Engine has become the exclusive AI cloud partner for China Central Television's Spring Festival Gala, introducing its Doubao assistant to hundreds of millions of viewers. 

Baidu has set out plans to distribute CNY500 million (USD71.9 million) to users of its AI assistant, while Tencent Holdings has already launched a CNY1 billion (USD144 million) red envelope campaign for its Yuanbao assistant.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev