Chinese search engine and artificial intelligence (AI) giant Baidu raked in over 100 billion yuan (14.55 billion U.S. dollars) in 2018, the company's CEO announced Wednesday.

Robin Li, CEO and founder of Baidu, called the record-high revenue "a milestone" for the company, indicating the firm's accelerating growth and dedication to serving users, he said in an open letter.

The NASDAQ-listed firm saw its third quarter revenue expand at 27 percent year-on-year as robust user traffic growth boosted its search and feed revenue. Its AI product DuerOS had been installed on about 141 million devices by the end of last September.

Li said AI is penetrating all sectors and has the potential to help companies weather economic headwind by reducing their costs and upgrading their businesses.

Baidu expected its Q4 revenue to be between 25.48 billion and 26.72 billion yuan, up 15 percent to 20 percent year-on-year.

The only potential negative for the company was its lax regulation over vulgar and indecent messages.

The Beijing Office of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission has ordered Baidu to suspend relevant businesses for a week, from Thursday.