06:44 AM EDT, 03/13/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Alibaba Group Holding ( BABA ) has launched a new version of its AI assistant mobile app that incorporates its latest in-house model to keep up with Chinese rivals, multiple media outlets reported Thursday.

The re-tooled Quark app takes advantage of its flagship Qwen reasoning model and integrates functions including a chatbot, deep thinking and task execution.

The app is based on a web browser introduced by Alibaba ( BABA ) in 2016 and can handle tasks from image generation to travel planning like ByteDance's Doubao, according to the reports.

New Quark will become available to all users gradually, starting with a pilot launched on Thursday.

Alibaba ( BABA ) did not immediately respond to MT Newswires' request for comment on the matter.