Baidu

Baidu is based in Beijing. Baidu Search and the Baidu feed are where a large share of Chinese desktop and mobile queries still start, and advertisers buy keywords and feed placements on that traffic.

Ernie is Baidu's large language model, offered inside Baidu's apps and to developers on Baidu's terms. Apollo is the autonomous-driving effort, including limited robotaxi service in selected Chinese cities, which depends on city permits rather than on the search auction.

iQIYI, the video service Baidu controls, competes with other long-form video apps for attention that might otherwise stay on search. Short video, especially Douyin, has taken advertising that used to be bought on search, which is the competitive shift Baidu's ad customers are making.

Search ad auctions set the price of commercial queries in China, with Bing and Sogou far smaller.

Ernie distribution inside Baidu's own apps is a self-preferencing choice about where the model is easiest to use.

City permits and mapping data gate Apollo robotaxi expansion.

Advertisers who need Chinese search demand still have Baidu as the place those queries are answered.

Developers building on Ernie depend on Baidu's API pricing and on whether the model stays competitive with other Chinese labs.