In recent years, China’s human resources industry has experienced a dramatic shift in search behaviors. Baidu, once the undisputed leader among traditional search engines, now faces significant challenges from emerging channels. Between 2017 and 2025, search volumes for headhunting-related keywords (such as “real estate headhunter” and “financial headhunter”) have plummeted by over 90%. Only “pharmaceutical headhunter” has bucked this trend, showing a 44% increase. This pattern reveals two critical insights: companies are becoming less dependent on general search engines, and demand in vertical sectors is increasingly fragmented.

From a technological perspective, Baidu has demonstrated impressive AI capabilities through its Wenxin large language model, which handles 1.5 billion daily requests (2024 data). However, its traditional search business continues to struggle. According to IDC reports, Baidu Intelligent Cloud commands a 26.4% market share, leading the AI public cloud market, but this advantage hasn’t translated into user loyalty in the search market. Instead, specialized platforms like DXY (Dingxiang Yuan) in healthcare and professional forums in finance are increasingly capturing the attention of business users. For instance, the growth in pharmaceutical headhunting searches correlates with stricter industry regulations and more specialized talent requirements—needs that users prefer to address through industry-specific platforms.

For international business owners, this shift necessitates a strategic pivot from broad-spectrum digital marketing to precision targeting. Human resource service providers, for example, would benefit from reducing investments in traditional search engine advertising and instead focusing on LinkedIn, industry forums, or specialized medical platforms that directly connect with target audiences. Content marketing has also become increasingly valuable—publishing industry white papers, case studies, or expert interviews allows companies to establish authority in niche sectors and overcome the challenges posed by fragmented traffic.

Baidu’s struggles offer an important lesson for businesses: in today’s era of information fragmentation, building a dual moat of “content + channels” is more effective than competing solely for traffic. While Baidu has attempted to attract developer communities by open-sourcing its Wenxin large model 4.5 and X1, its services in vertical domains still require deepening. Companies can adopt this approach by combining technological capabilities with industry expertise—for example, developing customized recruitment tools or data analysis systems that integrate directly into their target industry ecosystems.