Baidu’s AI Business Eclipses Waning Legacy Ads For First Time

Baidu Inc. posted a better-than-feared 1% slide in revenue after growth in nascent AI businesses offset a steady decline in traditional internet revenue, buying the search leader time to catch rivals such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. in the post-ChatGPT era.

Sales for the three months ended March slipped to 32.1 billion yuan ($4.7 billion), extending revenue declines into a fourth consecutive quarter. But Baidu’s core business, excluding Netflix-like streaming platform iQiyi Inc., returned to growth, driven by a surge in its AI-powered cloud unit. Its shares rose more than 3% in pre-market US trading.