Baidu’s Ernie Bot to be Free of Charge from April 1

Last Updated on February 14, 2025 by SPN Editor

Chinese tech titan Baidu has announced that its AI chatbot, Ernie Bot, will be accessible free of charge starting April 1. This decision is a nod to the company’s advanced technological developments and reduced operational costs, making the AI service available to all users on both desktop and mobile platforms.

The announcement comes amidst a competitive landscape in China’s AI sector, where Baidu faces formidable rivals such as DeepSeek, which offers free AI chatbot services similar to those of U.S. pioneer OpenAI. Despite being an early player in the AI arena following the 2022 debut of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Baidu has faced challenges in achieving widespread adoption for its Ernie large language model. With the release of Ernie 4.0, which rivals OpenAI’s GPT-4 in terms of capabilities, Baidu aims to capture a larger share of the market.

https://signpostnews.com/google-launches-the-most-advanced-ai-model-gemini/Adding to the excitement, Baidu also revealed plans to launch an advanced search function, set to be freely available from April 1. This new feature promises to deliver enhanced reasoning capabilities and seamless tool integration, providing users with expert-level responses.

Ernie Bot: Baidu’s AI Gem

Ernie Bot, officially known as “Enhanced Representation through Knowledge Integration,” has swiftly risen to prominence in the AI chatbot arena. Since its inception, Ernie Bot has attracted a substantial user base, boasting over 300 million users as of June 2024. This rapid growth highlights the chatbot’s sophisticated capabilities and the growing demand for AI-powered tools.

Standing Tall Among Competitors

Despite Ernie Bot’s impressive progress, it operates in a crowded field of AI chatbots. ByteDance’s Doubao chatbot currently leads the market with 78.6 million active monthly users, while DeepSeek follows with 33.7 million users. Ernie Bot, with its 13 million users, is steadily gaining traction and has the potential to close the gap with its competitors.

On the global stage, OpenAI’s ChatGPT remains a dominant force, boasting 200 million weekly users as of August 2024. However, Baidu’s commitment to enhancing Ernie Bot’s capabilities and making it freely accessible demonstrates a determined effort to increase its market presence and user engagement.

The Road Ahead for Ernie Bot

Looking to the future, Baidu has ambitious plans for Ernie Bot, including the launch of Ernie 4.5 and the anticipated release of Ernie 5 in the latter half of 2025. By open-sourcing its AI models and continuously refining its technology, Baidu is poised to solidify Ernie Bot’s position as a leading player in the AI world.