Asia Tech Wire (Aug 1) -- Alibaba's international retail commerce unit announced Wednesday the launch of an artificial intelligence conversational sourcing engine.

The engine is due to debut in September this year, Alibaba International Digital Commerce Group said in a statement.

Focusing on B2B e-commerce business, Alibaba said the engine aims to change the global sourcing process for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by making it more intuitive and efficient.

The new service will integrate all e-commerce platforms, focusing on understanding natural language and transforming it into specialized sourcing requests, as well as predicting sourcing needs and providing recommendations.

Alibaba International Digital Commerce Group includes e-commerce platforms like AliExpress, Lazada, Daraz and Trendyol.