Xiaohongshu is quickly becoming a major player in China’s search engine space. A new report from QuestMobile shows that the platform’s daily search volume hit six billion queries in Q4 2024, doubling from just a year earlier. That puts it at almost half of Baidu’s ten billion daily searches.
Baidu, long the dominant name in Chinese search, is now at risk of losing its top spot.
Xiaohongshu’s Rapid Growth Is Shifting Market Dynamics
Xiaohongshu’s rise hasn’t been random. The company has been hiring aggressively from Baidu’s search team. Insiders say the company recruited much of Baidu’s R&D talent in 2023. One source even suggested that Xiaohongshu “already got the best of the best.”
As the app’s user base grows, so does its influence. Xiaohongshu says 70% of its monthly active users use search regularly. One-third of users begin their sessions with a search, and 90% say the results impact their buying decisions.
This user behavior is helping the platform pull ahead in key engagement metrics.
Baidu Is Under Pressure
Baidu is still the largest search engine in China, but its lead is shrinking. The company’s Q3 2024 report showed a 2.58% revenue drop compared to the previous year. Baidu’s core business is search, and losing users could impact its revenue and market value. The company is currently valued at $31.4 billion, compared to Xiaohongshu’s $17 billion valuation from mid-2024.
Industry watchers warn that if Baidu loses more share, it could mean billions in lost revenue. For context, even a small percentage of the search market can be worth a lot—Microsoft’s Bing earns $12 billion per year with just 3.4% of the global market.
App-Based Search Is Becoming the Norm
Xiaohongshu’s growth reflects a larger trend: users are turning to in-app search tools instead of traditional web-based engines. Other Chinese companies are following this trend.
Tencent is expanding WeChat’s Sogou Search. ByteDance is investing more in Douyin Search. Alibaba is pushing its Quark browser and exploring search options in DingTalk. These platforms benefit from their own user ecosystems and original content, giving them an edge over Baidu’s more fragmented approach.
Baidu has also taken criticism for showing too many ads in search results, which has hurt user trust.
The Landscape Of Search Is Changing
The way users search online is evolving. Platforms like Xiaohongshu, WeChat, and Douyin are focusing on personalized, community-driven results. This model is reshaping how users discover content and make decisions.
Tencent has acknowledged Xiaohongshu’s rise, with one insider saying the company is now investing heavily in WeChat’s search features. Even DingTalk’s president took a public shot at Baidu’s ad-heavy results at a recent forum.
Baidu recently shut down its standalone encyclopedia app. That move stands in contrast to Tencent’s continued investment in similar features within WeChat.
A New Era In Chinese Search?
As users shift to in-app search, the traditional dominance of standalone engines like Baidu is being challenged. Xiaohongshu is leading the way, offering curated content and strong engagement that drive user behavior and spending.
The search market in China is no longer just about finding facts—it’s about influencing decisions and building digital communities. If current trends hold, Xiaohongshu may soon take the lead as China’s top search engine.
