Baidu launches medical chatbot to help Chinese doctors diagnose patients

Chinese search engine giant Baidu is launching a medical chatbot designed to make diagnosing illnesses easier. The conversational bot is named Melody and comes built into the company's iOS and Android Baidu Doctor app, which launched in China in 2015. Baidu Doctor allows users to contact local doctors, book appointments, and search through a medical database of illnesses, with the chatbot intended to speed up these appointments. Melody asks patients questions to narrow down their potential