Alibaba's Free AI Can Now Talk and Listen Like a Person
Imagine an AI that chats with you live, no typing needed — here's how it works.
Alibaba’s Qwen team just dropped a free AI that feels like talking to a real person instead of typing into a chatbot.
You can now call or video chat with their AI—no typing required. Want to ask for a recipe while cooking? Just say it out loud. Need help planning your day while driving? Your AI assistant can chat back in real time. The AI even understands videos and photos, so you could show it a picture of a broken appliance and ask how to fix it. Behind the scenes, it’s a single model handling voice, text, images, and video all at once—like having a Swiss Army knife for AI.
The best part? Alibaba is giving the software away for free under an open license, meaning anyone—from hobbyists to big companies—can use and tweak it without paying. They’re also sharing all the details online so experts can build on it. This isn’t just a chatbot upgrade; it’s a step toward AI that acts more like a helpful teammate than a tool.
For now, it’s a smaller version of what’s coming, and the team promises bigger, smarter models soon. But even this early version shows how AI could soon feel like a real conversation partner, not just a screen you stare at.
- Alibaba released a free AI that talks and listens like a person, not just a text robot
- You can call or video chat with it—no typing needed—and it understands voices, videos, and photos
- The AI is free for anyone to use or modify, which could lead to new apps and tools quickly
Why It Matters
Soon, talking to AI could feel as natural as calling a friend—no screens or typing required.