On Thursday, Baidu, the leading search engine in China, announced that it will make its artificial intelligence chatbot, Ernie Bot, available for free starting April 1. The company attributed this decision to advancements in technology and declining operational costs.
According to a post on the platform WeChat, the AI service will be offered at no charge to users across both desktop and mobile devices.
Baidu is facing intensified competition in China’s AI landscape, particularly from startups like DeepSeek, which provides free AI chatbot services. DeepSeek claims that its performance is on par with that of American innovator OpenAI, all while maintaining lower operational expenses.
Although Baidu was one of the earliest companies in China to venture into AI following the release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in 2022, it has encountered challenges in achieving widespread usage for its Ernie large language model. The company asserts that its latest iteration, Ernie 4.0, is comparable to OpenAI’s GPT-4 capabilities.
Data from AI product tracker Aicpb.com indicates that Baidu’s AI solutions have fallen behind domestic rivals such as ByteDance’s Doubao chatbot and the emerging player DeepSeek in terms of user adoption.
In the latter part of 2023, Baidu rolled out premium features for its search engine that leverage its sophisticated models, including Ernie 4.0, with a monthly subscription fee set at CNY 59.9 (approximately $8.18 or Rs. 710).
On the same day, the company revealed an enhanced search functionality that will also be accessible for free starting April 1. This feature is designed to offer improved reasoning abilities and tool integration, aimed at delivering high-quality responses, according to Baidu.
© Thomson Reuters 2025
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
