Baidu revealed Ernie Bot in March and made it generally available in late August. The company also offers a paid version of the chatbot, which costs about $8.4 per month. Baidu is also integrating AI features into its existing services, such as a tool that allows users of its cloud-based file storage service to retrieve documents with natural language prompts. The company and other leading tech firms in China have reportedly made significant investments in Nvidia Corp. chips to support their AI development efforts.
Key takeaways:
- Baidu Inc. has announced that its Ernie Bot chatbot service is now used by over 100 million consumers.
- The chatbot, launched in 2019, is based on an internally developed large language model called ERNIE, capable of writing and rewriting text, summarizing documents, and generating code.
- Baidu is monetizing the chatbot with a paid version that costs about $8.4 per month, and has integrated AI features into its existing services.
- Baidu and other leading Chinese tech firms have reportedly made significant investments in Nvidia Corp. chips to support their AI development efforts.