By CUI Peng

Baidu saw its shares shoot up 7 percent in premarket trading Wednesday. After the company reported a Q4 net profit was 4.95 billion yuan (US$718 million), triple the figure for the same period of 2021.

The Chinese search engine giant also announced plans for a US$5 billion share-repurchase plan. Baidu’s revenue in Q4 reached 33 billion yuan, beating analysts’ estimates of 32 billion yuan.

In his internal letter to employees, founder and CEO Robin Li spoke about Baidu’s AI ambition.

Biadu has plans to include in chatbot “Ernie,” described as a ChatGPT-like service, in almost all of its software and hardware from March.

Li said the Ernie bot will be embedded in a number of Baidu’s major businesses, including the highly profitable search engine, cloud computing and the Apollo smart driving system.

In September last year Li said, "artificial intelligence was at crossroads in terms of both technology and commercial application."

In today’s internal letter, Li went further: “AI technology has developed to a critical point, and all walks of life will inevitably be changed.”

Li said Baidu is “on top” of the AI trend as the best chance for the long-term growth of China’s AI market.

“In addition to better search services and answers, we will offer a new interactive chat experience, and provide unique content that will greatly enrich the content ecosystem and supply,” Li said.