AI Tokens Launch as Singles’ Day Shopping Feature

China’s Singles’ Day shopping festival introduced AI token packages as a new consumer product for the first time. The tokens, used to access artificial intelligence tools, were offered during the annual event, which has grown since its inception in 2009.

Top live-streamer Austin Li sold 100,000 monthly memberships of Alibaba’s QwenWork AI service within half an hour during a Taobao Live broadcast. This amounted to approximately two trillion AI tokens, units of text processed by AI models.

Lian Jye Su, chief analyst at Omdia, noted that Chinese consumers are increasingly familiar with AI productivity tools. He suggested that frequent users may run out of credits, making large purchases during sales periods a reasonable action.

The live stream also marked the first sale of AI products by Li, known as the 'Lipstick King' for his success in selling lipstick. The event featured QwenWork token plans, AI-enabled laptops, and workplace devices, with Alibaba Group vice-president Chen Yusen participating.

Chen addressed a question about using AI to create a digital avatar of Li, stating that while AI could not replace Li, it could assist with daily tasks, allowing users to spend more time with their families.

Alibaba’s Tmall launched an AI Token Center for the festival, offering packages from Alibaba Cloud, MiniMax, Moonshot AI, and Z.AI. JD.com also introduced an AI token section, including services from DeepSeek, Z.AI, and ByteDance’s Volcano Engine.

Alibaba reported that AI token plan sales from October 1 to October 20 increased by 450% compared to the previous month. AI personal-computer laptop sales also rose over 300% year on year in the first hour of the Nov 11 checkout period.

Su warned that the long expiry periods of tokens might encourage users to stock up, but cautioned that rapid changes in AI products could make consumers hesitant to prepay for services that may be replaced or retired.