During the Baidu AI Day open access event on August 20th, the Baidu app unveiled several significant updates. Among these are search optimized for both results retrieval and educational purposes, as well as the launch of the ERNIE Assistant office agent, which is now available for free, covering the entire process from understanding the query to delivering the result.
Dai Jingzhou, head of the Baidu app R&D center, emphasized the company's mission: to make artificial intelligence accessible and free for everyone.
In terms of search, Baidu Search completed a graphical interface update. Users facing a complex problem now receive an interactive interface that helps them understand the situation. Furthermore, the ERNIE Teacher's function for explaining complex questions has been improved, utilizing dynamic whiteboard writing and multi-level explanations, mimicking the work of a real teacher.
The released version 2.0 of the ERNIE Assistant task engine, which is an office agent integrated into search, is capable of autonomously executing the full cycle of tasks—from information gathering to final delivery—in scenarios involving office work, creativity, deep research, and application development. On the same day, Google also released updates, including visual interactive search and an AI tutor. Both traditional search engines launched AI upgrades in response to the agent boom, which is transforming traditional industries.
User needs in search are changing: people are increasingly assigning tasks they want solved to search engines instead of just entering keywords. Results are no longer static pages or AI aggregations; Baidu Search transforms complex questions into real-time working interfaces, allowing users to adjust parameters for better understanding. During a demonstration, a fourth-grade student was able to understand a tree planting task via voice input in just two minutes. Scenarios cover frequently encountered concepts from K9 level mathematics and physics, as well as history and geography. The graphical interface now includes over 2000 components, answers millions of questions daily, and serves over 400 million users.
ERNIE Teacher received a substantial update that supports dynamic whiteboard drawing, multi-level explanation, and multimodal interaction, ensuring personalized learning for every student. When explaining solutions in geometry and mechanics, it draws the relevant figures. Baidu Search is equipped with a built-in drawing agent: ERNIE Teacher independently determines the need to draw, plans the steps, and executes the sketch while explaining the material using real-time annotations of auxiliary lines. The architecture allows figures to participate in the reasoning process; this feature will be available on September 7th.
The ERNIE Assistant task engine version 2.0 covers over 400 professional skills, increasing output utilization by 50 percent and tripling overall efficiency through end-to-end delivery. It integrates materials from all domains to create research reports. The system can generate a presentation (PPT) from a single sentence and also possesses route planning and AI programming functions. Baidu invited the Somali ambassador to create a presentation on Somalia-China cooperation in the water industry. The engine implements goal-oriented planning for long-term needs, such as weight management and scheduling tasks. It covers 148 core scenarios and is used by over 100 million users. According to Baidu App data, this engine ranks first overall on PinchBench. Compared to API model challenges and paid subscriptions, this engine is completely free. Thus, the traditional search mechanism is adapting in the age of agents.