Baidu’s AI-powered smartphone from smart speaker unit Xiaodu includes a ‘tutor’ to help children study English

Baidu’s smart speaker subsidiary has announced a new smartphone for sale next week that includes an interactive English “tutor” for children, as China’s internet search giant seeks to reap low-hanging fruit from its existing artificial intelligence (AI) technology.

Xiaodu, which was spun off from Baidu in 2020, said its new phone will include an AI tutor that can help with a variety of tasks such as working on school assignments and English speaking practice, the company said in a statement on WeChat on Wednesday. For example, the device is able to scan essays and offer suggestions to polish the writing.

The features align with Baidu’s strategy to bet big on AI after a new tech race was ignited in the sector by the unexpected popularity of ChatGPT, launched by US start-up OpenAI last November. Baidu was the first major Chinese tech company to launch a rival product in March called Ernie Bot. The upcoming phone uses a “large AI model for studying” developed by Xiaodu, while Baidu previously said that it would embed Ernie Bot in Xiaodu devices.

“The emergence of generative AI and large language models (LLMs) presents transformative potential for AI in various industries,” Baidu chief executive Robin Li Yanhong said in a call with analysts on Tuesday.

TikTok owner ByteDance made its first foray into the private education market in 2020 with a smart lamp that can make video calls. The first consumer-facing product from AI firm SenseTime was a robot launched last year that teaches kids how to play Chinese chess.

China’s child-focused smartwatch market is so hot that dozens of brands, including Huawei, Xiaomi and Okii, also known as Little Genius, are jostling for market share.