At Baidu World 2026 in Beijing, Robin Li articulated how AI's next phase will transform business operations by fostering 'intelligent organizations' that leverage cross-functional teamwork, knowledge sharing, and measurable workflows.
- AI will reorganize work around cross-job tasks.
- Employee expertise must be documented and shared.
- Workflows should be measured and improved continuously.
What happened
Baidu founder Robin Li detailed the next stage of AI adoption during Baidu World 2026 by introducing the concept of the 'intelligent organization.' He proposed that companies must fundamentally redesign how work is structured to fully harness AI’s potential. Three principles were outlined: breaking down work by tasks that cross traditional job boundaries, systematically documenting employee know-how to enable reuse by teams and AI agents, and applying metrics to workflows to foster continuous improvement.
Li further divided jobs into two broad categories: 'builders,' who focus on creating products and services, and 'sellers,' whose roles center on communication and trust. His argument suggests that as AI takes on more responsibilities, companies will be able to allocate work more dynamically by task rather than by rigid job descriptions. Baidu provided internal data demonstrating rapid growth in AI agent deployment, with daily active AI agents increasing from 5,000 to 37,000, and weekly completed tasks jumping from 84,000 to over 1 million in one year.
Why it matters
Li’s vision signals a significant shift in how organizations must adapt to AI technologies. Instead of simply automating existing roles, companies will need to rethink their workflows and collaboration models to maximize AI's benefits. Organizing work by tasks that cut across job boundaries enables more flexible and efficient use of human and AI capabilities.
Additionally, documenting and sharing employee knowledge creates a valuable resource that can be leveraged by both people and AI systems, enhancing productivity and innovation. Continuous workflow measurement drives data-informed improvements, ensuring processes evolve alongside AI capabilities. Baidu's own experience illustrates that these principles can lead to rapid scaling of AI-driven productivity, offering a template for other firms aiming to integrate AI at scale.
What to watch next
Observers should monitor how other Chinese and global companies take up the 'intelligent organization' framework and whether it becomes a standard blueprint for AI integration across industries. The success of Baidu’s approach could influence broader organizational transformations beyond technology sectors.
Future developments may also clarify how AI agents will reshape the nature of jobs categorized as 'builders' and 'sellers,' and how workforce management adapts to more fluid task assignments. Tracking metrics on workflow efficiency and AI-human collaboration effectiveness will be key to understanding the real-world impact of these shifts.