At the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2026 held from March 24 to 27 in Boao, Hainan, Baidu Vice President Ruan Yu highlighted the company's intensified focus on the elderly care sector in recent years. She stated that Baidu has dedicated substantial resources to developing digital and intelligent solutions for senior services.
Ruan identified three major industry challenges discovered during preliminary research. First, age-appropriate devices and smart experiences present high barriers for seniors, resulting in usability issues and steep learning curves. Second, supply and demand imbalances persist, with numerous traditional elderly care providers struggling to maintain high-quality services long-term due to costly personnel management at community centers. Third, coverage remains largely concentrated in first- and second-tier cities, leaving pension demands in districts and counties inadequately addressed.
To tackle these pain points, Baidu has launched multiple AI and large-model-based smart products to upgrade elderly care services. Over the past two years, the company formed an innovative elderly care team and invested over 1 billion yuan to develop large-model products targeting both senior citizens and elderly care operators, aiming to resolve industry inefficiencies and supply-demand gaps.
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