Baidu's Stock Nears 52-Week High as AI Users Top 200 Million
CEO Robin Li confirms the user base for its Ernie Bot and related AI features has doubled since December, signaling its costly AI pivot is gaining significant traction.
Baidu Inc. shares climbed toward a 52-week high as the Chinese technology giant revealed its AI-powered chatbot, Ernie Bot, and related features have surpassed 200 million monthly active users, a critical milestone in its strategic pivot to artificial intelligence.
The surge in user adoption, which has doubled since December, provides the most substantial evidence yet that Baidu's heavy investment in generative AI is successfully building a massive audience. The news propelled Baidu’s U.S.-listed shares, which are trading near $150 with a market capitalization exceeding $52 billion.
In a clear sign of growing momentum, Baidu CEO Robin Li confirmed the landmark figure at a conference, stating that the platform's user base had grown twofold in just a few months. "Ernie Bot has accumulated over 200 million users," Li announced, adding that its application programming interface (API) is now processing 200 million queries daily. Furthermore, the number of enterprise clients leveraging the AI has reached 85,000, according to reports from the South China Morning Post.
For Baidu, which built its empire on internet search, this user growth is a crucial validation of its costly and company-altering shift. The 200 million user figure is understood to represent interactions with Baidu's AI capabilities across its entire ecosystem, including its flagship search app, rather than solely through its standalone Ernie Bot application. This integrated approach appears to be accelerating adoption and embedding the technology into the daily digital life of its users.
While user metrics are a key indicator of engagement, investors have been keenly watching for signs of monetization. Baidu is beginning to provide them. The company's AI Cloud business, a core component of its enterprise strategy, saw revenues climb 33% year-over-year in the third quarter of 2025 to RMB 4.2 billion. Even more strikingly, revenue from AI-native marketing services surged 262% year-over-year in the same period, reaching RMB 2.8 billion, as detailed in its earnings report.
This robust AI-driven growth comes at a pivotal time for the company. Recent quarterly reports have shown single-digit declines in total revenue, reflecting broader economic headwinds and maturity in its legacy advertising business. The rapid expansion of its AI division offers a compelling narrative for future top-line growth, justifying the significant capital expenditures on research and development that have weighed on operating income.
Wall Street has responded with optimism. Of the 33 analysts covering the stock, 25 rate it as a 'Buy' or 'Strong Buy', with an average price target of approximately $165, suggesting further upside from its current levels. The market's enthusiasm is rooted in the belief that Baidu can successfully leverage its massive user base and early lead in China's generative AI race into a dominant and profitable business line, mirroring the transition major U.S. tech firms are also undertaking.
The Ernie Bot, first launched in March 2023, received public approval from Chinese regulators in August of that year, giving it a head start over many local competitors. In a strategic move to accelerate growth, Baidu made the service free for all users in April 2025, a tactic that appears to have paid dividends in user acquisition.
The challenge ahead for Baidu will be to maintain its momentum in a fiercely competitive domestic market, with rivals like Alibaba and Tencent also investing heavily in their own large language models. The company must continue to convert its vast user engagement into sustainable revenue streams, balancing the high cost of AI innovation with the market's demand for profitability.
Nevertheless, reaching 200 million active users is a significant achievement that solidifies Baidu's position as a leader in China's AI landscape. As the company prepares to launch its next-generation ERNIE 5 model, investors will be watching to see if this user growth can be the foundation for Baidu's next chapter of financial success.