The major Chinese web search engines are starting to let users hide paid results with one click. A report from 新品牌BrandPaper, syndicated on Tencent News, says the Chinese web version of Microsoft Bing now offers one-click hiding of first-screen search ads. According to the report, it is the third engine in China to do so, after Baidu and Sogou introduced similar controls on their web SERPs in September 2026.
We have been sitting on the Baidu and Sogou part of this for a couple of weeks because the only sourcing was a single social post. It is now backed up by a trade report and an independent first-hand screenshot account, so it is time to write it up. One caveat applies throughout: we have not verified the feature ourselves from inside China, and Baidu’s version is described as a grey (partial) test.
What each engine is doing
Bing China. According to BrandPaper, users on the web version can choose to hide or show the first-screen search ads. Brand zone ads, image-insert ads and the hyperlink ads at the bottom of the page are not covered by the hide control. The report also indicates the feature has not reached mobile yet.
Baidu. The report says Baidu’s web search began offering one-click ad hiding in September 2026 as a grey test, with no confirmed date for a full launch. A blog post on bailuze.com independently describes seeing it on 31 August 2026: a clear “广告搜索结果” (ad search results) label with a “隐藏广告搜索结果” (hide ad search results) button beneath it. The author notes that the button is off by default, so you see the ads before you can hide them, and that some ads remained even after hiding.
Sogou. BrandPaper says Sogou’s web search added the same capability in September. Separately, Sogou’s web version has been running an internal test of its second-generation AI search since September. It is inviting users to apply, giving priority to high-quality content creators, and may offer those testers dedicated traffic support.
360 Search is, per the report, now the only major Chinese engine without an ad-hiding control. It has instead focused on AI. It launched “360搜索Agent” in December 2025, embedded in its traditional web results, and upgraded its homepage search box to a two-line, multimodal input that switches between traditional and AI search.
The context: Baidu’s long-running UX rethink
BrandPaper places this inside a wider set of changes. Baidu reportedly began a study around May on improving web and mobile search and its 文心助手 (Wenxin assistant). On 20 August 2026, the Baidu App search results page went “whole-page interactive”. If you have followed our coverage of Baidu’s position in the Apple Intelligence China deal and the Tencent Yuanbao search API built on the Sogou index, the pressure is obvious. Web search in China is losing attention to in-app search on WeChat, Xiaohongshu and Douyin, and to AI assistants. Ads that users dislike only add to that.
What this means for advertisers and SEOs
Let’s not overstate it. An opt-in toggle that is off by default, on desktop only, and doesn’t touch brand zone ads won’t break anyone’s paid search budget. Most users never change defaults. Baidu’s version is a test, and the bailuze account suggests some ads survive hiding anyway.
The direction is still worth noting. For two decades, Baidu’s SERP has been the textbook case of paid results crowding out organic ones, and the 2016 Wei Zexi case made that a regulatory issue. Now three engines are giving users a way to remove the ad block. Two things follow:
- Brand zone becomes more valuable. It is explicitly excluded on Bing, and is the paid format that survives. This mirrors our earlier analysis of Shenma brand zone as paid presence.
- Organic first-screen visibility gets slightly more valuable for the minority who do hide ads. They tend to be the more search-literate, desktop, B2B-leaning users.
My take
My evidence threshold says this is real but small: three engines, with sourcing that is now good enough. What I’m watching is whether any of them makes hiding the default, or brings it to mobile. That would be a real monetisation decision, not a UX gesture. Until then, the more important story here may be Sogou’s second-gen AI search test and its promise of traffic support for creators. We’ll keep an eye on both, and on whether Baidu announces anything at Baidu World, which has been reported for 12 November.