China’s answer to ChatGPT has more than 200 million users, claims Baidu

china chatgpt

The generative AI race has been heating up and while China may have been late, it is certainly flexing its might. One of the key Chinese players in development of generative AI chatbots is Baidu with its Ernie Bot. According to a report by CNBC, Ernie Bot now is being used by more than 200 million users. At Baidu’s developer conference, CEO Robin Li revealed the number of users that use China’s answer to ChatGPT.

It has been more than a year since Baidu unveiled Ernie Bot. However, it was rolled out to the public in August 2023. Baidu has a large language model called Ernie which powers the popular chatbot. According to the report, Samsung and Honor have integrated Ernie AI in some of their smartphones.

Baidu also revealed that around 26,000 businesses in China were using Ernie Bot on a monthly basis. According to the report, Ernie Bot is capable of handling more than 50 million queries per day. OpenAI’s ChatGPT is not accessible in China.

The Chinese tech giant is expecting AI to make a significant contribution to its revenues. “In 2024, we expect AI revenues contribution to become more meaningful, while our core business will remain resilient,” Li had suggested in February during the company’s quarterly earnings call.

Alibaba is another big Chinese player making moves in generative AI space. Moonshot AI — a startup backed by Alibaba — has a chatbot named Kimi, which reportedly saw its website and app traffic quadruple in March. According to data shared by AIcpb.com with the publication, Kimi’s views reached 12.5 million. Moonshot AI is backed by Chinese tech giant Alibaba. The surge in numbers has made Kimi the second most popular chatbot in China, behind Baidu’s Ernie Bot.

Also read: How Kimi, Ernie are heating up China’s AI rivalry as Alibaba, Baidu lock horns

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