Baidu's Ernie Bot has celebrated a significant milestone, amassing over 100 million users since its public launch in August, Reuters reports.
This milestone highlights the increasing value of generative AI-powered chatbots in today's tech landscape, where Baidu has staked its claim despite stiff competition.
Ernie Bot Beginnings
The chatbot's road to 100 million users began in March with a partial unveiling that, while deemed underwhelming by analysts, provided Baidu with a critical first-mover advantage.
Following a five-month trial period, select users were able to test Ernie Bot's capabilities, paving the way for its eventual public release in August.
Despite stiff competition from ChatGPT, which claimed the title of the fastest-growing software application globally within six months of its late 2022 launch, Baidu's early entry has allowed Ernie Bot to secure a prominent position.
Reuters also reports that SuperCLUE, a ranking platform for generative AI-powered chatbots, places Ernie Bot at the forefront among Chinese chatbots, albeit with a score of 79.02, over 10 points lower than the latest iteration of ChatGPT.
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Better than ChatGPT?
Back in June, Baidu claimed superiority based on the performance of Ernie 3.5, the most recent version of their language model at the time.
According to the China Science Daily journal, Ernie 3.5 outperformed both ChatGPT and GPT-4 in benchmark tests based on OpenAI's GPT 3.5 model.
The tests covered a variety of topics, demonstrating Ernie 3.5's superiority in the Chinese language. However, in terms of English language proficiency, it lagged behind GPT-4 while still outperforming ChatGPT.
Furthermore, founder Robin Li proudly declared in October that "Ernie is not inferior in any respect to GPT-4," emphasizing Baidu's commitment to advancing AI capabilities in the country.
Despite these strides, Baidu and other Chinese AI pioneers face challenges. The global race to develop AI services like ChatGPT and DALL-E encounters headwinds due to US sanctions on Chinese access to advanced chips required for training and running AI models.
Additionally, Beijing's stringent censorship adds another layer of complexity, potentially impacting the prospects of Chinese AI breakthroughs on the international stage.
In August, China approved the release of the first batch of generative AI services for domestic use, featuring products from emerging players and established technology giants like Baidu.
At one point, Ernie Bot surged to the top of China's iPhone app store download chart, exceeding one million users on launch day, though it faced competition from established services like Tencent's WeChat.
The initial success continued as Ernie Bot garnered widespread public approval, with over 6 million users embracing its AI-powered capabilities just days after its September release.
This positive response further solidifies Baidu's position in the fiercely contested landscape of generative AI-powered chatbots.
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