Do you bear an 87 per cent resemblance to Hugh Grant? Maybe you look 85 per cent like Sienna Miller. Facial recognition software in Baidu’s mobile app can scan your face and give you your closest celebrity match.
It is unclear how the Chinese-language search engine will make money from this novel way of wasting time on mobile phones. A link-up with plastic surgeons? Perhaps not, but Baidu is likely to want something more from facial recognition than just fresh content around which to sell ads.
Almost all of the company’s income is from online marketing: Rmb13.4bn out of Rmb13.5bn in total third-quarter revenues. But advertising is a cost for Baidu’s customers, so the search engine wants to help them generate revenue. The prize is a slice of China’s retail sales, which passed $3tn in the year to September. Like that jacket you see on the street? Scan a photo and Baidu will suggest similar alternatives; a few clicks and it is yours. The practice has not yet caught on, but if commerce picks up from the service, vendors could pay Baidu a cut.