Chinese tech giant Baidu has officially launched a cutting-edge AI video generation platform, joining the race alongside OpenAI’s Sora and other global contenders. The new tool, dubbed "Ernie Video", leverages Baidu’s proprietary ERNIE large language model (LLM) to generate realistic short-form videos from simple text prompts. This strategic move underscores Baidu’s growing focus on generative AI as a core growth engine.

The company showcased Ernie Video’s capabilities at its Baidu World 2025 conference, demonstrating video clips created with basic text descriptions. The system supports animation, digital avatars, and realistic character modeling, with outputs up to 2 minutes long. Baidu claims it can also synchronize voice and lip movement, targeting content creators, marketers, and educators.

Revamped Baidu Search Gets AI Makeover

Alongside Ernie Video, Baidu introduced a new version of its search engine, redesigned with generative AI-powered answers, similar to Google's Search Generative Experience (SGE). The revamped search now features AI-generated summaries, direct responses, and multimodal integration, enabling users to search using text, images, and even voice.

Robin Li, Baidu's co-founder and CEO, emphasized that AI-enhanced search could reshape user behavior and make search more intuitive and useful, especially in a mobile-first China. “Our search product is not just catching up — it's leading in contextual relevance,” Li said at the event.

Positioning Baidu as China’s AI Leader

The launch reflects Baidu’s ambition to become China’s foremost AI company, as it competes with global firms like Google, OpenAI, and Meta in the rapidly evolving AI landscape. It also aligns with China’s push to build homegrown alternatives to Western tech platforms amid geopolitical tensions and data security concerns.

Ernie Video is currently in beta testing with enterprise partners, while the new AI-powered Baidu Search will be gradually rolled out to general users over the coming months.