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Search engine Baidu launches virtual assistant Duer
Robin Li, chief executive officer of the Beijing-based company, unveiled the artificial intelligence-powered Duer at the 2015 Baidu World Conference in Beijing, China, Sept 8, 2015. [Phot provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
Baidu Inc, the online search giant, launched its own Siri-like virtual assistant on Tuesday which is able, for instance, to place takeout orders.
Robin Li, chief executive officer of the Beijing-based company, unveiled the artificial intelligence-powered Duer at the company's annual technology event, Baidu World.
Demonstrating Duer's abilities, Li asked the virtual assistant to search for a nice restaurant in the Gulou area in Beijing, with the condition that it must allow pets.
Duer smoothly processed Li's voice request, recommended him a restaurant, and helped make the reservation.
Li said compared with pure information searches, a search for services is often based on specific criteria and sometimes complicated interaction.
"That's why we wanted to launch an artificial intelligence-powered assistant, to match search requests with high-quality services," he said.
Duer's launch ties in closely with Baidu's 20 billion yuan ($3.14 billion) investment, announced in June, in online-to-offline services over the next three years, which will transform the search giant from being simply a platform to connect people with information, to linking people with services.
The virtual assistant's arrival is seen by analysts as a vital step in that process, which Baidu hopes will create a new growth point for the company in the highly competitive mobile Internet market.
Tian Hou, from Beijing-based firm TH Capital, said as the Internet becomes more reliant on mobile devices, Baidu needs new innovations and new strategies to remain competitive.
"As we all know, being a gateway generates a lot of visitors and traffic, and therefore money.
"Baidu is no doubt a gateway in the personal computer-based Internet industry, as everyone needs to use its search engine to get information.
"That thirst for information has now gone mobile, but it is still not as strong as digital demand for social networking and shopping. That's why Baidu must change," she said.
Duer is accessed through the latest version of the Mobile Baidu search app, and will be able to provide services in just three categories initially－dining, movies and pets.
But Li said the service will be expanded to other sectors, including education, healthcare and finance, very soon.
"Apart from the Mobile Baidu search app, other Baidu apps including Baidu Map and Nuomi, the group-buying service, will also be equipped with the virtual assistant," he said.
He did not rule out the possibility of launching a separate Duer app, or even building a real robot to offer people services, in the future.
Yan Honghui, an analyst with Internet consultancy Analysys International, said that as Duer handles more types of request in the future, it is likely to become a crucial part of Baidu's business.
"Not only can it improve user experience, but by making Duer smarter Baidu will be able to connect all its services-related businesses, such as car booking and group buying into one platform, creating a new 'killer app' which will give it added growth momentum in the future," she said.
Robin Li, chief executive officer of the Beijing-based company, unveiled the artificial intelligence-powered Duer at the 2015 Baidu World Conference in Beijing, China, Sept 8, 2015. [Phot provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
Baidu Inc, the online search giant, launched its own Siri-like virtual assistant on Tuesday which is able, for instance, to place takeout orders.
Robin Li, chief executive officer of the Beijing-based company, unveiled the artificial intelligence-powered Duer at the company's annual technology event, Baidu World.
Demonstrating Duer's abilities, Li asked the virtual assistant to search for a nice restaurant in the Gulou area in Beijing, with the condition that it must allow pets.
Duer smoothly processed Li's voice request, recommended him a restaurant, and helped make the reservation.
Li said compared with pure information searches, a search for services is often based on specific criteria and sometimes complicated interaction.
"That's why we wanted to launch an artificial intelligence-powered assistant, to match search requests with high-quality services," he said.
Duer's launch ties in closely with Baidu's 20 billion yuan ($3.14 billion) investment, announced in June, in online-to-offline services over the next three years, which will transform the search giant from being simply a platform to connect people with information, to linking people with services.
The virtual assistant's arrival is seen by analysts as a vital step in that process, which Baidu hopes will create a new growth point for the company in the highly competitive mobile Internet market.
Tian Hou, from Beijing-based firm TH Capital, said as the Internet becomes more reliant on mobile devices, Baidu needs new innovations and new strategies to remain competitive.
"As we all know, being a gateway generates a lot of visitors and traffic, and therefore money.
"Baidu is no doubt a gateway in the personal computer-based Internet industry, as everyone needs to use its search engine to get information.
"That thirst for information has now gone mobile, but it is still not as strong as digital demand for social networking and shopping. That's why Baidu must change," she said.
Duer is accessed through the latest version of the Mobile Baidu search app, and will be able to provide services in just three categories initially－dining, movies and pets.
But Li said the service will be expanded to other sectors, including education, healthcare and finance, very soon.
"Apart from the Mobile Baidu search app, other Baidu apps including Baidu Map and Nuomi, the group-buying service, will also be equipped with the virtual assistant," he said.
He did not rule out the possibility of launching a separate Duer app, or even building a real robot to offer people services, in the future.
Yan Honghui, an analyst with Internet consultancy Analysys International, said that as Duer handles more types of request in the future, it is likely to become a crucial part of Baidu's business.
"Not only can it improve user experience, but by making Duer smarter Baidu will be able to connect all its services-related businesses, such as car booking and group buying into one platform, creating a new 'killer app' which will give it added growth momentum in the future," she said.
