Baidu has announced that ERNIE Bot will be free for all users starting April 1, 2025. The chatbot will be available on both desktop and mobile app versions. Users will have full access to the latest ERNIE foundation models at no cost.

Features available for free

With free access, users can enjoy several advanced features. ERNIE Bot will provide extended document processing for better handling and analysis of documents. Its professional search capabilities will help users get more accurate and AI-driven search results. The chatbot will also support advanced AI painting, which allows the creation of high-quality AI-generated artwork. Additionally, ERNIE Bot will support multilingual conversations, making it more versatile.

New Deep Search feature

ERNIE Bot is introducing a new Deep Search feature that enhances thinking and planning. It will provide expert-level responses and improved AI assistance for complex tasks through its tool-calling capabilities. The chatbot also supports multimodal input and output, making interactions more flexible. Deep Search will be available on ERNIE Bot’s official website, with mobile access coming soon. Free access to this feature will also start on April 1.

ERNIE Bot’s growth and popularity

As of November 2024, ERNIE Bot had 430 million users, with daily API calls exceeding 1.5 billion. The API usage has grown 30 times compared to 2023, showing its increasing popularity. While OpenAI’s ChatGPT is not officially available in China, many users access it through VPNs. ChatGPT is praised for its natural Chinese responses. However, ERNIE Bot remains the leading AI chatbot in China due to its wide user base and corporate adoption.

Censorship and regulatory compliance 

ERNIE Bot follows China’s censorship policies and avoids sensitive political discussions. In contrast, ChatGPT’s responses are widely shared on Chinese social media. Baidu ensures that ERNIE Bot complies with regulatory guidelines while still offering powerful AI capabilities.

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