Baidu AI Assistant Reaches 200 Million Monthly Active Users

The number of people who have used Baidu’s AI assistant, Baidu AI Assistant, grew rapidly over the course of 2026, and by the end of 2026, there were a total of 200 million monthly active users, which was a high level of adoption for an AI assistant in China.

Users can access Baidu AI Assistant via the desktop or mobile version of Baidu Search, and can utilize it to find answers to their questions, book flights, order food, build a resume, and even generate images. In addition to these capabilities, users can switch between different AI models including Ernie and DeepSeek when using the Baidu AI Assistant.

The AI assistant’s rapid growth is attributed to being able to seamlessly integrate with Baidu’s broader ecosystem (such as Baidu Maps and Baidu Health), thereby enabling the AI assistant to provide a more personalized experience to users through features like navigation assistance and health-related information.

Baidu was the first major Chinese technology company to develop its own chatbot AI assistant, which launched in 2023. Since Baidu developed the first major chatbot AI assistant in China, Baidu has been facing increasing competition from other large technology companies in China, including Alibaba and ByteDance.

At the end of 2025, Alibaba reported that its AI assistant had achieved 100 million monthly active users just a few weeks after it launched its public beta, which further increased the competitive environment within China’s AI space.

The growth of Baidu AI Assistant to reach 200 million monthly users indicates that artificial intelligence in China is now going beyond testing and development phases, and into day-to-day usage by millions of users. With increasing competition from other major players, AI assistants will likely continue to evolve at an accelerated pace, and become increasingly integral to digital ecosystems.