BEIJING — Baidu, a leading Chinese technology company primarily known for its search engine, is expanding its services by integrating the popular artificial intelligence tool OpenClaw into its main smartphone application. This integration will allow users to directly access the AI agent to perform a variety of tasks, including scheduling, organizing files, and writing code.
The new feature, which will be available starting later on Friday, requires users to opt in to message the AI agent directly through Baidu's primary search app. This innovation comes as AI agents like OpenClaw gain significant traction for automating a wide range of tasks, from email management to the utilization of online services.
Before this development, OpenClaw, an open-source AI agent developed in Austria, was mainly accessible through popular messaging applications such as WhatsApp and Telegram. However, Chinese tech companies like Alibaba, Tencent, and Baidu have since enabled their users to run OpenClaw on their respective cloud systems.
Baidu, which boasts 700 million active users monthly on its search app, also plans to extend OpenClaw's functionality to its e-commerce platforms and additional services. This strategic rollout aligns with Baidu's goal to harness AI technology and compete in the rapidly evolving digital marketplace.
The launch of this feature comes just ahead of China's Lunar New Year celebrations and signifies a part of the broader strategy by Chinese internet giants to attract a larger user base and capitalize on their AI investments.