Ant Group merges 3 Alipay units as it bets on AI-driven agentic commerce

Ant Group has combined 3 business units into a new Alipay group and appointed Wu Minzhi to lead it, as the Chinese fintech company expands its focus on AI wallets, AI payments and agentic commerce. CEO Cyril Han Xinyi said the market was entering a phase of explosive, large-scale growth.

Editor: AI News 24x7 Published: 22 Sep 2026, 07:59 PM Updated: 22 Sep 2026, 07:59 PM

Ant Group merges 3 Alipay units as it bets on AI-driven agentic commerce.

Ant Group has consolidated its Alipay operations into a new business group as the Chinese fintech company increases its focus on agentic commerce (AI-driven transactions) and artificial intelligence tools for payments, merchants and consumers.

The new Alipay Business Group brings together Ant’s Digital Payment Business Group, Alipay Business Group and Zhima Credit Business Group. The restructuring was outlined in an internal letter from chief executive Cyril Han Xinyi.

Wu Minzhi, a veteran executive at Ant and previously at Alibaba, has been appointed to lead the new group. She will also continue as Ant’s chief people officer.

Why Ant is reorganising Alipay

Han said the change is intended to bring technology, product and ecosystem capabilities closer together while strengthening the merchant service system. He described agentic commerce as entering a phase of “explosive, large-scale growth” as AI technology advances and adoption across industries accelerates.

The company says Alipay has established a base for this shift through its work on AI payments and AI wallets. It is also developing an ecosystem linking multiple hardware devices, according to excerpts of Han’s letter.

Ant’s stated plan includes giving users personal AI wallets and life assistants, helping merchants expand through Alipay’s AI platform, and building what Han called a trusted AI agent ecosystem.

From payment app to AI platform

The latest restructuring follows Ant’s decision in late 2024 to separate its Alipay business into the Digital Payment Business Group and the Alipay Business Group. The former focused on new payment products, while the latter worked on user growth and monetising the digital wallet.

Ant has since accelerated efforts to make Alipay a platform for AI agents. In June, it introduced Ah Bao, an interactive assistant described as the company’s biggest Alipay overhaul in 2 decades. The initiative was aimed at turning the mobile-payment app into a native AI platform with autonomous agents.

In late May, Ant launched a set of AI payment tools. These included an AI Wallet inside the Alipay app, designed to let users manage and authorise tasks performed by AI agents. The company also introduced Token Pay, a business-to-business product built for AI-model providers.

What the change means for Alipay

The unified structure places payment products, digital-wallet operations, credit services, technology and merchant capabilities within one Alipay-focused unit. Its stated purpose is to support the next stage of commerce as AI agents take on more tasks for users and businesses.

Ant had not immediately responded to a request for comment at the time of the report. Alibaba Group owns the South China Morning .

Conclusion

Ant Group’s Alipay restructuring brings 3 business units under one group while the company builds AI wallets, payment tools and agent-based services. The next phase of its strategy is centred on connecting users, merchants and AI systems through the Alipay platform.