The ChatGPT-like artificial intelligence product Ernie bot, developed by Chinese internet company Baidu, has more than 100 million users, according to the company.

In U.S. trade, Baidu shares closed 3% higher, maintaining a modest increase in the stock for 2023. The Ernie bot user numbers were not disclosed by the corporation as to whether they were active or only for a limited amount of time.

OpenAI, a company supported by Microsoft, reported in November that ChatGPT had roughly 100 million active users each week. Although it isn’t formally accessible in China, users can nonetheless utilise the chatbot there.

Ernie bot requires a China cell number for user registration; it can be utilised in English in addition to its native Chinese. The Mandarin Chinese name of the app is “Wenxinyiyan.”

Although Baidu launched its chatbot in March, it wasn’t until late August that it gained regulatory approval for a widespread rollout. Several local players were also given the go-ahead at that point.

The parent company of TikTok, ByteDance, has a chatbot named Doubao. As of Friday morning, it was ranked second in China’s Apple app store for free productivity apps.

Both Tencent and Alibaba provide chatbots to the Chinese public, although their attention has been mostly on AI solutions for business partners. Tencent is housed within the popular social media and messaging app WeChat.

Baidu began charging roughly $8 per month in November for its most sophisticated version of the Ernie bot. For $20 a month, ChatGPT’s most recent model is accessible.

(Adapted from Barrons.com)