Baidu Completes Search Engine Overhaul, Removes 126 Million Medical-Related Listings Ahead of Schedule

Sina Technology News: On the afternoon of May 24, it was reported that in the aftermath of the Wei Zexi incident, a joint investigation team established by the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC), and the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) had required Baidu to implement corrective measures and put forward three specific demands. Today, Baidu announced that it has fully implemented these rectification measures and completed adjustments to its search results pages, finishing one week ahead of the promised deadline of May 31.

Baidu’s newly launched page has made significant adjustments in areas such as the volume of promotional content and the labeling of commercial promotions, marking the most substantial change Baidu has implemented in its commercial promotion sector in recent years.

Baidu stated that prioritizing user experience is the sole principle guiding this adjustment, and it will genuinely take responsibility for users and ensure their satisfaction.

Strictly limit the volume of commercial promotions; all pages must remain below 30%.

Starting May 17, Baidu’s commercial promotion pages underwent a phased upgrade. On May 17, Baidu fully replaced its previous “Promotion” label with the term “Commercial Promotion,” accompanied by changes in font color, the addition of underlines, and distinct background shading to clearly differentiate these areas. These enhancements not only provide clearer textual disclosure but also feature newly designed floating icons that explicitly highlight risks and user rights protections, thereby emphasizing the commercial nature of the promoted content.

On May 24, Baidu fully implemented a policy ensuring that commercial promotional content accounts for less than 30% of the total number of items per page. Following this comprehensive adjustment, the combined number of promotional links displayed at the top, bottom, and right side of each page will not exceed four. These measures shift greater control to users, facilitating easier differentiation between commercial promotions and organic search results. This enables users to access rich, high-quality information while making more informed decisions through rational filtering.

2,518 Medical Institutions Delisted; Top-Ranked Disease Search Promotions Removed

In addition to strictly limiting the volume of commercial promotions and optimizing their presentation formats, Baidu has implemented a series of corrective measures regarding medical promotional information, actively assuming its social responsibilities. During the investigation by the joint task force, Baidu removed 2,518 medical institutions and 126 million pieces of medical information from its platform.

Meanwhile, the new mechanism has also removed prominent promotional content from a large number of disease-related search results pages, further improving the presentation of information. For instance, when users search for specific hospital names such as “Peking Union Medical College Hospital,” only organic results are displayed, with no competitor advertisements. The aim is to enhance the relevance of search results and enable users to quickly and conveniently access the information they need.

Implement Stringent Qualification Review Standards to Ensure Information Authenticity and Validity at the Source

On the backend, invisible to users, Baidu has also intensified its review efforts, striving to maximize the authenticity and validity of promotional information from the source. For the four major industries—medical care, pharmaceuticals, health supplements, and food—Baidu’s commercial promotion has adopted an extremely strict review mechanism.

In accordance with the updated document issued by Baidu, titled “Notice on Updated Standards for Qualification Verification in the Medical Industry,” which establishes the most stringent review criteria to date, mandatory submission requirements now include not only business licenses, industry qualification certificates, and medical practice permits—as previously required—but also compulsory verification of corporate bank accounts, ICP filing, and consistency checks. This represents the most robust approach currently available for verifying qualifications in the medical sector. Additionally, applicants are required to submit a “Medical Advertisement Review Certificate,” leveraging the Advertising Law to strictly control the quality of promotional content and raise the entry threshold for enterprises.

During the promotional campaign, Baidu further strengthened its risk control mechanisms for medical industry materials by implementing a three-tier review process—“machine + human + human”—to continuously address illegal and non-compliant content uploaded by clients. This May, Baidu added 128 restricted risk-related terms in three batches, covering areas such as medical technologies, diagnostic and treatment methods, disease names, drugs, claims regarding cure rates and efficacy rates, exaggerated advertising, and doctor-patient relationships. The restricted keyword database now totals 15,370 entries.

Baidu has stated that users who, while logged into their Baidu accounts, click on search results bearing the “Bao” (Guarantee) mark or Baidu’s “V” credibility badge and suffer direct financial losses due to false or illegal promotional content on those promoted websites may apply for compensation from Baidu’s guarantee fund and receive support for consumer rights protection.

For specific operations, move the mouse to “Commercial Promotion” in the upper right corner. In the pop-up layer that appears, click on the “Netizen Rights Protection Plan,” which will redirect you directly to the Baidu Protection official website. Click to expand the drop-down section labeled “Verified with Guarantee,” and the “Protection Entry” will be displayed, allowing direct access to the Baidu Protection official website page.

Baidu also stated that it would continue to implement corresponding adjustment plans before the end of this month.