Baidu, the Chinese tech giant, has unveiled remarkable statistics for its AI-powered chatbot, “Ernie Bot,” showcasing its escalating popularity and market penetration. CEO Robin Li disclosed that Ernie Bot has now amassed over 200 million users, doubling its user base from just a few months ago.
Li further highlighted the staggering usage rate of Ernie Bot’s application programming interface (API), which is being leveraged a whopping 200 million times daily. This indicates the substantial demand for the chatbot’s services, with users frequently relying on it to accomplish various tasks. Additionally, Ernie Bot has secured a significant presence in the enterprise sector, boasting 85,000 enterprise clients.
The announcement comes amidst Baidu’s strategic initiatives to monetize Ernie Bot, with revenue generation efforts already underway. In the fourth quarter alone, Baidu capitalized on AI-driven advancements to enhance its advertising solutions, resulting in substantial earnings amounting to several hundred million yuan. Moreover, the company has extended support to other enterprises in building their AI models, further consolidating Ernie Bot’s position in the market.
Ernie Bot, introduced last March as one of China’s pioneering generative AI chatbots, received official approval for public release in August. Notably, China mandates regulatory approval for the deployment of generative AI services, distinguishing it from many other jurisdictions.
Despite Ernie Bot’s impressive growth, it faces competition from domestic rivals, particularly Moonshot AI’s “Kimi” chatbot, backed by Alibaba. Kimi has exhibited rapid expansion, narrowing the gap with Ernie Bot. Recent data indicates a surge in Kimi’s user visits, with a remarkable 321.6 percent increase in March compared to the previous month.
However, on a global scale, Chinese generative AI services still trail behind their Western counterparts. OpenAI’s ChatGPT remains the world leader in this domain, with a staggering total traffic of 1.86 billion views last month.
China’s intensified focus on AI innovation is evident in its accelerated approvals for AI services, underlining its commitment to compete with the United States in the tech sphere. With 117 large AI models receiving approvals thus far, China continues to position itself as a formidable contender in the global AI landscape.