In a bold move to counter increasing competition, Baidu announced its AI chatbotĀ ERNIE BotĀ will become completely free, starting April 1st 2025. The announcement was also paired with the launch ofĀ Deep Search ā a search tool leveraging advanced reasoning and multimodal analysis.
https://x.com/Baidu_Inc/status/1890054166015565997
Both announcements come as a strategic move to cement Baiduās position as Chinaās search leader, following the recent popularity in the topic of AI advancements in China, and specifically their competitor, DeepSeek.
Interestingly, ERNIE bot is DeepSeekās direct competitor, while the Deep Search functionality is integrating both solutions together. Baidu is not shy to take advantage of the fact the competitor is open source. Ā
ERNIE Bot by Baidu ā a quick recap
ERNIE bot (standing for Enhanced Representation from Knowledge Integration), launched in March 2023 as Chinaās answer to ChatGPT. It was initially offered in a tiered pricing model (similarly to OpenAIās approach). Even though Baidu was one of the first Chinese companies to embrace AI after ChatGPT’s launch in 2022, ERNIE has struggled to gain traction. By eliminating subscription fees, Baidu seeks to expand ERNIEās user base. ERNIE Bot has a user base of some 430 million users as of November 2024, as reported by Baidu.
What’s next for ERNIE?
The current model, ERNIE 4.5, is believed to be updated to version 5.0 in the second half of 2025. Positioned as a foundational model, ERNIE 5.0 is to feature significant advancements in multimodal capabilities. The new model will be able to process and convert between text, video, images, and audio seamlessly.
Big announcements equal business impact
The markets have responded very enthusiastically to the news. Baiduās stocks have jumped by 12% at the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong following the announcements.
This series of news means Baidu is reclaiming its prominent spot on the AI map. However, is it enough to catch up with the fierce competition?
