Key points:

  • Chinese search giant Baidu will release its very own AI bot in March of this year
  • This news comes from a source close to the company and familiar with the matter
  • Baidu has not made an official announcement yet

The AI war has begun. Chinese search giant Baidu is all set to launch a Chat GPT-style AI bot in March this year. The news comes from a source close to the company and familiar with the matter. With Baidu’s AI bot, China will soon join the AI race driven by innovation and remarkable tech phenomena. 

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Will Baidu enter the AI race?

OpenAI’s ChatGPT has ruffled a few feathers across the global tech community. While we certainly cannot stop talking about ChatGPT, prominent tech companies including Google and Microsoft have also taken note of this impressive technology. In fact, Microsoft is in talks with OpenAI to add ChatGPT to Bing – its native platform. 

Google responded by issuing ‘code-red’ wherein the company’s CEO has urged his employees to build cutting-edge AI-driven solutions. Baidu, the Chinese search firm will soon join the race by launching an AI bot similar to ChatGPT in March this year. 

According to the source, the AI bot will be initially integrated into Baidu’s primary search services. Users of the unnamed tool will be able to receive search results that are conversational in nature, similar to the well-liked platform launched by OpenAI in November last year. Baidu has invested enormous sums of money in AI research in an ongoing, billion-dollar drive to transition from online marketing to far more advanced technology. 

According to the source, Baidu’s Ernie system will be the foundation of the company’s AI tool. Besides, Ernie, Baidu’s machine model has been primarily trained on data over the past few years. As of now, Baidu has not issued a statement on the matter. 

Baidu eyes a comeback with AI bot

China’s internet is predominantly controlled by prominent companies including ByteDance, Tencent Holdings, Baidu, and Alibaba Group Holding. Over the past few years, Baidu lost grip of its market share, losing out to its arch-rivals in the mobile era in different areas including social media, video and mobile advertising. Over the past couple of years, Baidu has woken up from its slumber and invested significant resources toward AI research and more recently, autonomous driving technology. 

The arrival of ChatGPT, just like in other parts of the world, has created quite a buzz among Chinese internet users. Many users have shared screenshots of their conversations with ChatGPT on Chinese social media. It is worth noting that Baidu is not the only Chinese company that is currently active in this space. Multiple startups are exploring the potential of generative AI in China. 

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