Baidu Wins Apple AI Search Deal: Traffic Now, But Can Siri Keep Its Job Long-Term?

Last week I had dinner with a friend who does store operations at an Apple Retail Store. He complained that customers kept asking him, "Can Siri help me find which hotpot restaurant nearby doesn't have a queue?" He tried it, Siri took forever to respond, and finally popped up a Baidu search results page. He laughed bitterly and said, "How is this any different from just opening the Baidu app and searching?"

This scenario perfectly explains the logic behind today's news: Apple chose Baidu as the AI search partner for Apple Intelligence in China. According to Sci-Tech Innovation Daily, Baidu will focus on developing AI-based search features as part of the "Apple Intelligence" suite, handling images and text, and upgrading the Chinese version of Siri.

From the perspective of a retail tech product manager, this is essentially a "supply-side" partnership—Apple needs localized AI capabilities, and Baidu needs a C-end super entry point. But the depth of cooperation between the two parties determines whether this "smart restocking" solution is short-term traffic acquisition or long-term reconstruction.

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Short Term: Baidu Got the "Golden Shelf Position," but User Experience Might Dip Before Rising

[!success] Key Conclusion: What Baidu gained is the first-screen search entry for iPhone users, a traffic value far exceeding any ad placement.

What Baidu Gets

• Pre-installed AI search in the iPhone system, bypassing competition from Safari's default search engine (currently Google)
• Training data: Real search intents from Chinese users, especially long-tail, localized, and ambiguous queries
• Brand exposure: On the "AI Search" track, Apple's endorsement is more convincing than any advertisement

What Apple Gets

• Compliance: Baidu is the only top-tier search company that passed China's generative AI filing
• Localization: Baidu Maps, Baike, Tieba, and other data ecosystems can handle complex queries like "good children's programming institutions near Haidian Huangzhuang"
• Cost: No need to build Chinese large model search capabilities in-house; Baidu bears the model training and maintenance costs

But the problem lies in the "interface layer" of user experience. Apple is known for "not interrupting users," while typical Baidu search experience involves "redirecting to web pages + ad slots." If AI search results are presented directly as Baidu search result pages, users will feel "Siri has been hijacked by ads."

# Pseudocode: Comparison of paths from user intent to answer
# Ideal Case (Apple Style)
user_query = "What good Sichuan restaurants are nearby?"
apple_ai_response = direct_answer(restaurant_name, distance, rating, price_range)
# User sees card directly, no click needed

# Reality (Baidu Style)
baidu_response = search_page(query, ad_rank=True, organic_rank=0.3)
# User sees list of search results with ads, needs secondary click

In the short term, Baidu needs to reconstruct its output format. If they just hook up the Baidu search API to Siri, Apple users will curse, "This sucks worse than opening Dianping." But if Baidu can provide structured data (e.g., returning restaurant ID, rating, business hours directly) so Siri can display native cards, the experience can meet standards.

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Long Term: Siri's "Brain" is Outsourced, Apple AI's Localization May Never Grow Up

[!note] Product Logic Judgment: AI search is Siri's "perception layer" and "decision layer," not just the "retrieval layer."

Apple Intelligence showcased at WWDC centers on a hybrid architecture of "on-device + cloud." On-device handles simple tasks (setting alarms, sending texts), while cloud handles complex reasoning (understanding context, generating content). Now Baidu handles cloud search, effectively outsourcing Siri's "reasoning engine."

Three Unavoidable Hidden Dangers

1. Conflict between Data Sovereignty and Privacy

Apple always emphasizes "privacy is a fundamental human right," but when Baidu processes user search queries, data inevitably uploads to Baidu servers. Even with user consent, Apple's "local-first" strategy completely fails in search scenarios.

2. Ecosystem Fragmentation

If Siri's search capability relies on Baidu, what about other AI features (like image generation, email summarization)? If Apple partners with different companies separately, Siri becomes an "API aggregator" rather than an assistant with soul. It's like a supermarket outsourcing fresh food supply chains to third-party platforms; inventory turnover rates actually drop.

3. Can Baidu "Evolve"?

Apple's requirement for suppliers is "controllable and continuously iterative." Baidu's current AI search experience (ERNIE Bot) still lags behind GPT-4, but the partnership will force Baidu to optimize. In the long run, Baidu might transform from a "search engine" to an "Apple-exclusive AI brain," which could conversely limit the evolution of Baidu's own products.

Using Retail Terminology: Apple is "outsourcing" Siri's core capabilities to Baidu, just like a supermarket outsourcing fresh supply chains to third-party platforms. It launches quickly in the short term, but leads to a lack of "private label" in the long term, where users eventually recognize Baidu but not Siri.

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An Open Question

When AI search becomes mobile phone infrastructure, will users pay for "Apple Intelligence's" localization? Or do they just need a smarter Baidu search?

My judgment is: Short term, this is a good move for Baidu to consolidate its search moat; long term, Apple needs to quickly find a balance between "in-house R&D + partnership," otherwise Siri will never become "true intelligence" but just a "voice entry point for Baidu search." After all, users won't abandon the Baidu app just because Siri runs on Baidu, but they will turn off the "Hey Siri" wake word because Siri is hard to use.

Original link: https://www.ithome.com/0/977/164.htm