Baidu reports modest revenue growth amid signs search engine giant’s big tilt to AI is starting to pay off

China search engine and artificial intelligence (AI) giant Baidu reported modest revenue growth in the three months to end-December as the Beijing-based company’s big investments in AI begin to pay off.

Baidu posted revenue of 35 billion yuan (US$4.9 billion) for the quarter, up 6 per cent year on year and in line with consensus analysts’ estimates, according to a filing published on Wednesday. For all of 2023, revenue grew 9 per cent to 134.6 billion yuan.

Robin Li Yanhong, co-founder, CEO and chairman of Baidu, noted that Ernie Bot – the Chinese firm’s answer to ChatGPT – achieved “breakthroughs in monetisation” in 2023.

“Throughout 2023, we made significant strides to advance Ernie Bot, reinventing our products and services, and achieving with monetisation,” said Li in the statement, adding that Baidu’s commitment to generative AI would pave the way for new growth engines.

“In the fourth quarter, we maintained our focus on enhancing operational efficiencies,” said Rong Luo, Baidu’s chief financial officer. “As we look ahead to 2024, our goal is to persistently enhance operational efficiencies and achieve high-quality growth.”