Alibaba Unveils Breakthrough in AI Training
Alibaba is making waves with a new AI training method that cuts costs by nearly 90%. Known as ZeroSearch, this breakthrough is transforming how companies train AI models for search tasks.
How ZeroSearch Reduces Training Expenses
Training AI through commercial search engines is expensive. Developers often rely on APIs like Google’s, which can add up quickly. For example, sending 64,000 queries to Google can cost nearly $586. With ZeroSearch, that same training costs just $70. This sharp reduction—about 88%—makes AI development more accessible.
ZeroSearch works by using simulations instead of live queries. AI models learn how to answer search questions by drawing on knowledge they already have. No real-time internet interaction is needed, which saves time and money.
Smaller development teams stand to benefit most. Now they can train advanced AI without needing a big budget or massive infrastructure.
Boosting AI Performance Through Smart Simulation
Alibaba’s innovation does more than save money. It also improves AI performance. Search ability plays a major role in how well AI can reason and generate content. By simulating real searches, ZeroSearch teaches models to think more deeply.
A reference model trained on large knowledge bases acts like a search engine. This model can then help train other AIs, reducing dependency on outside services. It's an efficient and scalable approach that could change the future of AI training.
Also read: Alibaba Unveils Qwen3 AI Models
Rising Competition in AI Search
Alibaba isn't alone in this space. Its Quark app, one of China’s most popular AI tools, now features “deep search.” This feature combines online search with the reasoning ability of Alibaba’s Qwen model, delivering strong results on complex questions.
Other Chinese firms are stepping up too. Baidu has added DeepSeek’s R1 model to its search engine. Startups like Moonshot AI are also launching tools with real-time search.
With ZeroSearch, Alibaba leads a growing movement to make AI training faster, smarter, and more affordable.
