Reason Behind Alibaba’s Qwen Not Working, Coupons Paused as User Traffic Overwhels AI Platform

Alibaba’s artificial intelligence chatbot Qwen faced major technical issues after a surge in user activity caused the system to stop working and temporarily halt coupon distribution. The disruption occurred shortly after the launch of a large promotional campaign during China’s Spring Festival season.

According to Alibaba, the issue was triggered by extremely high user participation in the “Qwen Free Order” campaign. Millions of users logged in at the same time to test the AI’s shopping features, putting heavy pressure on the system.

In a statement shared with users, Qwen said that public interest in AI-powered shopping exceeded expectations. The company confirmed that its teams are working continuously to restore full functionality and ensure a smooth experience for participants.

What Is Qwen’s Free Order Campaign?

The “Qwen Free Order” campaign allows users to receive shopping coupons by interacting with the AI chatbot. Users can ask Qwen to recommend products, place orders, and complete payments directly within the chat interface.

These coupons can be used on Alibaba-owned e-commerce platforms, making the chatbot a complete shopping assistant rather than a simple question-answering tool.

The campaign is part of Alibaba’s 3-billion-yuan ($433 million) investment to attract users during the Spring Festival holiday, one of China’s busiest online shopping periods.

Why Did Qwen Stop Issuing Coupons?

The coupon system was paused after the platform recorded over 10 million orders within nine hours of the campaign’s launch. This sudden spike caused technical bottlenecks, forcing Alibaba to temporarily suspend coupon issuance to stabilise the system.

Alibaba confirmed that all issued coupons will remain valid until February 28, giving users enough time to redeem them once services fully resume.

Alibaba’s Bigger AI Strategy

Since January, Alibaba has been expanding Qwen into a one-stop AI platform. The chatbot now connects users to multiple apps, supports payments, and offers shopping services within a single interface.

This approach mirrors strategies used by global tech firms, such as Google integrating its Gemini AI into services like Google Maps and Search.

However, the Qwen outage highlights the challenges of rolling out agentic AI systems at scale, especially during peak traffic periods.

What Happens Next?

Alibaba says engineers are addressing the issue and improving system capacity. Once stability is restored, coupon distribution and AI shopping features are expected to resume.

Despite the disruption, analysts say the overwhelming response shows strong consumer interest in AI-powered commerce, marking a significant step in Alibaba’s long-term AI roadmap.