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Iris Deng

Chinese internet search giant Baidu has launched the paid version of its ChatGPT-like service Ernie Bot, as the country’s tech companies race to make money from their generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
The professional plan gives users access to the recently released Ernie Bot 4.0 at 59.9 yuan (US$8.18) per month, reduced to 49.9 yuan per month for auto-renewal subscriptions, according to the tech company’s official website.
The subscription allows users to make 100 inquiries every three hours via Ernie Bot 4. Meanwhile, the more basic Ernie Bot 3.5 remains free of charge to the public.
Ernie Bot 4.0 was unveiled by Baidu co-founder and CEO Robin Li Yanhong last month with the promise of improved capabilities in understanding complex questions, generating pictures and handling basic arithmetic.
“Its generalised abilities are by no means inferior compared to GPT-4,” Li said at its launch on October 17, referring to the latest ChatGPT model from Microsoft-backed OpenAI.
Tencent now using ChatGPT-like AI model in 180 services
Ernie Bot’s subscription fees are lower compared to OpenAI’s ChatGPT Plus membership, which is priced at US$20 monthly with faster response times and priority access to new features.
Baidu’s move comes as Chinese tech firms race to monetise and commercialise their large language models (LLMs), which have surpassed 100 in number since OpenAI launched ChatGPT in November 2022.
LLMs – the power behind these chatbots – are deep-learning AI algorithms that can recognise, summarise, translate, predict and generate content using very large data sets.
Some Chinese firms have already offered their LLMs to enterprise users for a fee calculated based on the number of texts processed and generated. Baidu’s Qianfan, its model-as-a-service platform, offers various AI models and capabilities with prices starting from 0.002 yuan per 1,000 tokens.
Tokens here refer to units of text that the model reads and generates, with their size varying among different models and languages. For instance, 1,000 tokens is about 750 words in English under OpenAI’s scheme.
Social media and gaming giant Tencent Holdings launched its Hunyuan API for enterprise at 0.01 yuan per 1,000 tokens, after users exhaust their free quota of 100,000 tokens on sign-up. In comparison, the ChatGPT API costs USD$0.002 per 1,000 tokens. In Tencent’s calculation, one token is approximately 1.8 Chinese characters or 3 English letters.
ChatGPT and rival products like Google’s Bard are not officially available in mainland China or Hong Kong, although Microsoft has been pushing its GPT-4-powered Bing Chat in the region. In the absence of foreign players, Chinese tech giants from traditional internet firms like Baidu and Alibaba Group Holding, owner of the South China Morning Post, to hardware makers like Vivo and Oppo have been pushing their own AI products.
Baidu first launched Ernie Bot trials in March, and opened it up to the general public after getting government approval in August. It now has a user base of 45 million and 54,000 developers, according to Baidu chief technology officer Wang Haifeng last month.
However, Chinese firms’ efforts to develop their own generative AI services are facing increasing curbs by local regulators, with authorities issuing new guidelines and rules this year meant to ensure AI-generated content aligns with official narratives.
China in August imposed a general regulation targeting domestic generative AI services, making it one of the first countries to impose rules governing the emerging technology.
The regulation targets all generative AI content services, including text, pictures, audio and video. It requires firms that are hoping to offer their products to the general public to promote healthy content and “adhere to core socialist values”, and to not generate false information or any content that endangers national security.


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Artificial intelligence

Baidu launches paid version of Ernie Bot as Chinese firms rush to make money from their generative AI chatbots

Ernie Bot 4.0 was unveiled by Baidu co-founder and CEO Robin Li Yanhong last month. Photo: Shutterstock

Ernie Bot 4.0 was unveiled by Baidu co-founder and CEO Robin Li Yanhong last month. Photo: Xinhua  

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[Shutterstock] Jakarta - March 23,2023: ERNIE Bot brand logo seen on smartphone with Baidu logo on the background. Baidu’s AI Chatbot. Ernie Bot is ChatGPT developed by Baidu.  Photo: Shutterstock
Stock Photo ID: 2279447961

Baidu co-founder and CEO Robin Li unveils Ernie Bot 4 at Baidu World 2023 in Beijing on October 17, 2023. The latest version of Baidu’s chatbot matches the capabilities of OpenAI’s GPT-4, Li said. Photo: Bloomberg

Tech

Business

Ernie Bot 4.0 was unveiled by Baidu co-founder and CEO Robin Li Yanhong last month
Baidu’s move comes as Chinese tech firms race to commercialise their large language models


Ernie Bot 4.0 was unveiled by Baidu co-founder and CEO Robin Li Yanhong last month and promises improved capabilities in understanding complex questions and generating pictures.


Baidu launches paid version of Ernie Bot as Chinese firms rush to make money from their generative AI chatbots

Ernie Bot 4.0 was unveiled by Baidu co-founder and CEO Robin Li Yanhong last month Baidu’s move comes as Chinese tech firms race to commercialise their large language models

Ernie Bot 4.0 was unveiled by Baidu co-founder and CEO Robin Li Yanhong last month

Baidu’s move comes as Chinese tech firms race to commercialise their large language models