Alipay and iFLYTEK have deepened their smart-cockpit partnership under a new program called the Xunbao Plan, which aims to move in-car AI from conversation to completing everyday errands. Alipay's in-car assistant was shown running inside iFLYTEK's Spark Smart Cockpit 3.0 at iFLYTEK's intelligent vehicle product launch on October 21, according to Leiphone and Sina Tech.
Under the arrangement, iFLYTEK's cockpit is responsible for understanding what the driver wants and dispatching the right capability, with its automotive Master Agent coordinating tasks. Alipay's assistant supplies the services and handles payment and fulfillment.
The first four scenarios target frequent driving needs. With the user's authorization, highway tolls can be deducted through Alipay without scanning a code. Parking fees are paid automatically, without a password, as the car leaves. The system can remind drivers to pick up a parcel when it sits along the route home. A smart ordering feature uses estimated arrival time, the user's taste and available discounts to place a food order in advance for pickup on arrival.
Han Zhenwei, general manager of Alipay's digital car-life business, said the next stage of smart cockpits is not just making AI better at conversation, but making services actually get done. He said Alipay will support carmakers in two ways: service fulfillment built on its closed payment loop, and user operations that draw on Alipay's reach and car-owner benefits to help automakers manage their customer relationships.
The two companies said later phases will cover account interoperability, an in-car AI payment feature, and credit-based buy-now-pay-later for car owners, and that they plan to bring more carmakers and service partners into the program.
The deal pairs two pieces of the agent puzzle that are often separate. Voice assistants in Chinese cars have become capable at understanding requests, but finishing a task usually means switching to a phone. By letting the cockpit agent call Alipay's payment and local-service network directly, iFLYTEK and Alipay are betting that the car becomes another place where agents close transactions, not just answer questions.
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