Taobao and Tmall launched the "Lobster" version of Business Advisor on March 31: More than just a tool, aiming to be a 24/7 digital assistant for merchants

According to 1M AI News monitoring, Taobao Tmall will gradually open up the "Lobster" version of Business Advisor to merchants starting from March 31, establishing an Agent team for each merchant to independently operate their store 24/7. Tmall President Jialuo announced this plan at the Tmall TOPTALK Super Brand Private Event on March 26.

Unlike the AI tools used by over 5 million merchants in the past year, the "Lobster" version of Business Advisor is positioned as an autonomous "digital employee" capable of generating strategies, making adjustments, monitoring performance, and iteratively optimizing on its own. Jiuding, the General Manager of Merchant Brands at Taobao Group, gave an example that when the system detects a pricing deviation of core popular products from market trends, it will automatically formulate adjustment plans, conduct tests, provide feedback on data, rather than just issuing reminders. The operation aims to be "one-click install activation" to reduce technical barriers.

The initial features cover three modules: Business Data Analysis (continuously scan business operations, alert risks, identify opportunities), Content and Ad Optimization (generate personalized content for thousands of viewers, automatically test ad combinations), Intelligent Shopping Guide (understand user needs and make precise recommendations). The platform will continue to enrich the skill set in collaboration with merchants and service providers.

In addition, Tmall announced multiple business initiatives for 2026: investing in a billion-dollar scale of "Shop AI Red Packets," automatically offering time-limited discounts to highly potential new customers; launching "Smart Ad Follow-up Investment" to add platform investment to well-performing merchant ads; preparing 60 billion in special traffic support for new product launches. Jialuo also revealed that the 88VIP membership has nearly reached 60 million, with half of Tmall's flagship brand sales contributed by 88VIP.