Baidu just shipped a meaningful upgrade to the Merchant Agent (商家智能体). As of June 19, the AI chatbot can now push live conversations directly into your third-party CRM tools — and automatically send your human agent's phone number to the lead when the conversation reaches the right moment.
For international advertisers running Baidu campaigns, this closes one of the biggest gaps in the lead handoff process.
What Changed
Two new capabilities, both live now:
1. CRM Handoff (人工介入)
When the Merchant Agent is chatting with a visitor on your landing page, the conversation can now be pushed in real time to your connected CRM platform. Your human customer service agents can see the full AI conversation history, and any agent can click to take over the chat. Once one agent picks up, the conversation locks to that agent — no duplicate responses.
How to enable it:
In the QiaoCang (巧舱) platform, go to Tools → "Send conversation data to third-party CRM tools" and authorize your CRM account. Supported platforms include:
- AiFanFan (爱番番) — Baidu's own CRM
- KuaiShangTong (快商通)
- ShangWuTong (商务通)
After authorization, every Merchant Agent conversation syncs to your CRM in real time. Agents with the correct site permissions can view and intercept.
2. Automatic Phone Number Sharing (发送客服电话)
When the conversation triggers a phone number collection moment, the Merchant Agent no longer just asks the visitor for their number. It can now automatically send your human agent's phone number to the visitor.
For AiFanFan, this pulls the agent's registered backup phone number. For other CRMs, it uses the phone number configured in the agent's profile.
This is a significant shift: instead of the lead waiting for a callback, they get a direct line to a real person — while they are still engaged.
Key insight: This is a significant shift — instead of the lead waiting for a callback, they get a direct line to a real person while they are still engaged.
Why This Matters for International Advertisers
If you are running Baidu ads from outside China, the lead handoff process has always been a friction point:
- Your AI agent chats with the visitor
- The visitor expresses interest
- ...then what? The lead goes into a queue. Someone in China (maybe) follows up hours later.
With this update, the handoff is instant and visible. Your CRM-connected team — wherever they are — can see the conversation live and jump in. And the phone number sharing means the lead gets a direct connection, not a form submission that may or may not get followed up.
The catch for overseas companies: You need a CRM that integrates with Baidu's QiaoCang platform, and a Chinese phone number for your customer service agents. If you do not have either, this feature exists but you cannot use it yet.
How BPP Helps
This is exactly the kind of integration gap BPP fills for international advertisers:
- CRM setup: We connect your existing CRM (or set up AiFanFan for you) to the QiaoCang platform
- Phone number provisioning: We provide Chinese phone numbers for your lead handoff agents
- Conversation monitoring: Our team monitors Merchant Agent conversations and handles human handoff during China business hours
- Lead routing: We route qualified leads to your team via your preferred channel — email, Slack, CRM, or direct phone transfer
What to Do Next
If you are already running Merchant Agent campaigns through BPP, this feature is now available. Contact your account manager to enable CRM handoff.
If you are not running Merchant Agent yet, this update makes it significantly more useful — the AI does the initial qualification, and your human team closes the deal.
Ready to set up Merchant Agent with live CRM handoff?
Talk to the BPP team. We will walk you through the realistic options for your industry, your budget, and your goals — no pressure, no fluff.