Alibaba has officially launched its new AI-powered chatbot app, Qwen, making a significant move into the consumer AI market to challenge OpenAI's ChatGPT. The app, which is powered by the company's Qwen3 model, is available for free on various platforms in China, with an international version planned for a later release. The launch signals a strategic shift for Alibaba, which had previously focused its AI efforts more on enterprise clients. The Qwen app is designed as a personal AI assistant capable of handling a variety of tasks, including generating research reports and presentations with a single command. Alibaba plans to integrate services like mapping, food delivery, and shopping to expand the app's capabilities, aiming to create an "everything app." The announcement was met with a positive market reaction earlier in the week, with Alibaba's U.S.-listed shares rebounding on the news. In Hong Kong trading on November 19, Alibaba's shares registered a modest increase.