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Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) is overhauling its search engine with AI features and a voice functionality, Bloomberg News reported.
The Chinese internet search giant said it wants to make its mobile app more like an AI chatbot which can help users with tasks such as writing, drawing and trip planning. It will focus less on keywords and more on natural language searches, and also enable users to perform searches by voice in many Chinese dialects, the report added.
Baidu did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Seeking Alpha.
In recent years, the company’s search engine has become complicated, executives told reporters Wednesday at an event in Beijing.
“Baidu search has to change, and we are voluntarily looking for changes,” said Zhao Shiqi, the company’s search boss. “We don’t intend to beat others, we need to beat our former self,” the report noted.
Baidu’s search platform now competes with social apps such as ByteDance’s Douyin and AI-native browsers for user attention. Baidu’s online marketing revenue has fallen for four consecutive quarters. However, executives have noted that AI-generated search content would eventually help in advertising grow, the report added.
In addition, Baidu also launched its first image-to-video model to compete with companies such as ByteDance and Kuaishou. Executives hope the AI generation function will help marketers create engaging videos on Baidu’s social feeds, the report noted.
Baidu was among the first group of Chinese companies whose AI model was approved in China following the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in late 2022 in the U.S. However, the company’s Ernie Bot faces fierce competition in the Chinese market, with tech giants like Alibaba (BABA) and startups such as MiniMax, Baichuan and Zhipu AI also introducing AI models.
Earlier this week, Baidu started open sourcing its Ernie 4.5 AI model family from June 30.
In April, it was reported that Baidu successfully “illuminated” a cluster of 30,000 of its self-built, third generation P800 Kunlun chips, allowing it to train DeepSeek-like (DEEPSEEK) models. The company also introduced its latest AI model, Ernie 4.5 Turbo, and a new reasoning model called Ernie X1 Turbo.
The Chinese internet search giant in March launched its foundation model called Ernie 4.5 and the deep-thinking reasoning model Ernie X1. The company had said that Ernie X1 delivers performance on par with DeepSeek R1 at only half the price.