REFILE-Baidu launches AI video generator, overhauls search features

BEIJING, July 2 (Reuters) - China's Baidu 9888.HK on Wednesday launched an AI-driven video generator for businesses as well as a major upgrade to its search engine.

The image-to-video model, called MuseSteamer, is capable of generating videos up to 10 seconds long and comes in three versions - Turbo, Pro and Lite.

Over the past year, artificial intelligence heavyweights like OpenAI and big global tech companies have been expanding beyond chatbots to text-to-video or image-to-video generators. In China, ByteDance, Tencent 0700.HK and Alibaba 9988.HK have also launched models.

While many rival products, including OpenAI's Sora, target consumers with subscription plans, Baidu's MuseSteamer is aimed only at business users and a consumer app is not yet available.

The search engine overhaul includes a redesigned search box that accepts longer queries and supports voice and image-based searches. The platform also displays more targeted content using Baidu's AI technology.

Baidu has faced increasing pressure as AI-based chatbots such as ByteDance's Doubao and Tencent's Yuanbao become more popular.