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Baidu's AI Search Gets a Major Upgrade—and a Price Tag That's Hard to Beat

Baidu's AI Search Gets a Major Upgrade—and a Price Tag That's Hard to Beat

Baidu has just announced a significant upgrade to its AI Search and Search AI API, and the headline is hard to miss: the API now costs as little as 4.9 yuan per thousand calls. That's a promotional price aimed squarely at developers and enterprises looking to weave AI search into their own products without breaking the bank.

But the price cut is only part of the story. The upgrade also brings a slew of new features to the Baidu App, all centered on making AI search more than just a question-and-answer tool.

From Q&A to Task Delivery

Take Wenxin Assistant, for example. It used to be a straightforward "ask a question, get an answer" affair. Now it's shifted to what Baidu calls "one-time delivery"—meaning it can handle tasks across more than 170 application scenarios. Think of it as going from a helpful librarian to a personal assistant who actually gets things done.

Then there's AI Lens, which now supports dynamic tracking and real-time conversations in nine dialects. So whether you're speaking Mandarin, Cantonese, or something in between, the lens can follow along and respond on the fly.

The GUI interactive scenarios have also expanded fivefold, connecting to over 5 billion data resources. And for those who like their content a bit more immersive, Baidu has launched AI interactive dramas and related applications, adding a new layer of entertainment to the search experience.

A Push Toward Integrated Services

What does all this add up to? Baidu is clearly steering AI search away from being just an information retrieval tool. Instead, it's becoming a platform for task delivery, real-time interaction, and content consumption—all rolled into one.

And by dropping the API price to 4.9 yuan per thousand calls, Baidu is making a bold play to attract developers. The lower the barrier, the more third-party products and enterprise applications will adopt these capabilities. It's a classic move: make the technology cheap and easy to integrate, and watch the ecosystem grow.

For everyday users, the changes might feel subtle at first—smarter answers, smoother interactions, maybe a new interactive drama to binge. But for developers, the message is loud and clear: AI search is now more accessible than ever. And for Baidu, it's a step toward embedding its AI search into the fabric of everyday digital life.

Key Points

  • Price drop: Search AI API now costs as low as 4.9 yuan per thousand calls.
  • Wenxin Assistant upgrade: Moves from Q&A to one-time task delivery across 170+ scenarios.
  • AI Lens: Adds dynamic tracking and real-time dialect conversations (9 dialects supported).
  • GUI expansion: Interactive scenarios grow fivefold, connecting to 5 billion+ data resources.
  • New content: AI interactive dramas launched to enrich user experience.
  • Strategic shift: Baidu aims to transform AI search into an integrated service platform, not just a search tool.