Baidu's AI chatbot, "Ernie Bot," has announced surpassing 200 million users, marking a significant milestone in its bid to maintain its status as China's leading ChatGPT-like conversational AI amid intensified competition. Since its public debut eight months ago, the user base has doubled, with the chatbot's API being accessed a staggering 200 million times daily, showcasing its widespread adoption.
CEO Robin Li revealed at a conference in Shenzhen that Ernie Bot has attracted 85,000 enterprise clients. The company has also begun monetizing Ernie, with revenues reaching several hundred million yuan in the fourth quarter through AI-driven improvements to its advertising services and assisting other firms in developing their own models.
Ernie Bot, introduced as China's pioneer homegrown ChatGPT-like chatbot last March, gained regulatory approval for public release in August, becoming one of the inaugural eight AI chatbots sanctioned by Beijing. Unlike many other nations, China mandates regulatory clearance before deploying generative AI services.
While Ernie Bot maintains its position as the dominant player, emerging rival AI services, such as Moonshot AI's "Kimi" chatbot backed by Alibaba, are swiftly gaining ground. Recent data indicates Kimi's rapid growth, with a 321.6% surge in visits from February to March, compared to Ernie Bot's 48% increase.
Despite this competition, Chinese generative AI services still trail their Western counterparts, with OpenAI's ChatGPT retaining its global dominance, boasting 1.86 billion views last month.
China's focus on AI as a crucial battleground against the U.S. in the tech sector has spurred accelerated approvals for AI services. State media reported that 117 large AI models have received regulatory clearance to date, signaling the nation's commitment to advancing in this pivotal field.
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