Baidu has rolled out its open-source AI agent, OpenClaw, within its flagship search app on February 14, bringing personal AI assistant capabilities to around 700 million monthly active users, marking one of China’s largest consumer AI deployments.
The OpenClaw agent, developed in Austria, allows users to perform various tasks such as scheduling appointments, organizing documents, and writing code by messaging it through the main Baidu search application. Previously, the agent’s access was restricted to messaging platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram. The deployment via Baidu Intelligent Cloud is completed within the app in under a minute, and users can activate the agent by tagging it in the search bar or engaging through chat. OpenClaw can be deployed either locally or in the cloud and receives instructions through instant-messaging tools.
This integration links OpenClaw to Baidu’s broader ecosystem, and over time, the agent is expected to access capabilities across Baidu Search, Baidu Baike, Wenku, Netdisk, and e-commerce platforms. Baidu’s official e-commerce skill is listed on ClawHub, enabling cross-platform price comparison and reputation analysis. However, CrowdStrike has cautioned that misconfigured OpenClaw on corporate machines could be commandeered as an AI backdoor, executing adversaries’ instructions. Malicious instructions can be submitted directly to exposed instances or embedded in data sources like emails and webpages.
The timing of the launch, ahead of China’s Lunar New Year holiday, reflects the race among Chinese tech giants to attract users and demonstrate returns on AI investments.
