ernie bot Archives - Gizmochina

China’s Top AI Chatbot ERNIE Bot will be free for all users

Joane — Fri, 14 Feb 2025 06:00:29 +0000

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.

Baidu unveils Revolutionary AI Tools and Models at Create 2024 conference

Joane — Tue, 16 Apr 2024 11:29:49 +0000

Chinese tech giant Baidu introduced a wave of groundbreaking AI models and development toolkits at the Create 2024 Baidu AI Developer Conference held in Shenzhen. The event served as a platform for Baidu to unveil its latest advancements aimed at popularizing AI development and empowering individuals with varying technical expertise to contribute to the evolving AI landscape.

During his keynote speech, Robin Li, Baidu’s Co-founder, Chairman, and CEO, highlighted the growing significance of natural language as a programming language. Li said that the ability to communicate verbally could transform anyone into a developer, fostering creativity and innovation in the field of AI.

One of the key highlights from the conference was the showcase of Baidu’s ERNIE models, which have garnered significant traction since their inception. With over 200 million users, ERNIE Bot, Baidu’s conversational AI bot, has solidified its position as a pivotal innovation in China’s AI sector. Additionally, ERNIE API, managing an impressive 200 million daily queries, and Qianfan, Baidu AI Cloud’s FM platform, utilized by over 85,000 enterprise clients, highlight the widespread adoption and impact of Baidu’s AI solutions.

Robin Li, Baidu’s Co-founder, Chairman, and CEO, addresses the audience at Create 2024.

To further empower developers, Baidu unveiled three AI development toolkits – AgentBuilder, AppBuilder, and ModelBuilder. These toolkits aim to streamline the development process, enabling individuals with diverse technical backgrounds to create AI applications and agents with minimal coding requirements.

Another significant announcement was the introduction of Apollo VTA (Vision Takes All), Baidu’s vision foundation model for autonomous driving. Trained on extensive real-world data from over 100 million kilometers of test drives, Apollo VTA excels in visual perception, enhancing safety and adaptability in autonomous driving scenarios.

Baidu also launched the second ERNIE Cup Innovation Challenge, offering up to RMB 50 million in incentives for the next breakthrough AI product or application. This competition aims to inspire visionaries and drive innovation in the AI era.

Throughout the conference, Baidu’s CEO emphasized three pivotal AI development trends expected to shape future adoption: MoE (Mixture of Experts), small models for specific scenarios, and agents powered by foundation models.

Create 2024 provided attendees with a comprehensive program, including industry forums, AI development classes, and interactive experiences, highlighting Baidu’s dedication to democratizing AI development and fostering creativity across industries. With these groundbreaking innovations, the company aims to accelerate AI adoption and pave the way for a more vibrant and inclusive technological future.

Baidu AI Cloud Launches 5 New ERNIE Models for Businesses of All Sizes

Anubhav — Sat, 23 Mar 2024 00:53:15 +0000

Baidu AI Cloud is trying its best to make its mark in the AI industry with a significant upgrade to its Qianfan platform. This update is designed to empower businesses of all sizes to leverage the power of advanced AI technology, making it easier and more affordable than ever before.

Five new ERNIE Models have been launched, with smaller footprints than LLMs

The centerpiece of the upgrade is the introduction of five new ERNIE models. Unlike traditional large language models (LLMs) that require massive amounts of computing power, these innovative models are designed with smaller footprints. This translates to a significant cost advantage for businesses, allowing them to incorporate AI into their operations without hefty infrastructure investments. Furthermore, the new ERNIE models boast impressive versatility, performing well across a wide range of applications, ensuring businesses can find the perfect fit for their specific needs.

Image Credits: Reuters

The Qianfan ModelBuilder platform now offers a diverse lineup of ERNIE models:

ERNIE Speed: A master of context comprehension, ERNIE Speed can churn out highly accurate and coherent content. This model tackles complex scenarios with ease, analyzing context windows of up to 128,000 tokens. In specific domains, ERNIE Speed can even rival the performance of top-of-the-line ERNIE models.
ERNIE Lite: This upgraded version of ERNIE Bot Turbo brings a 20% boost in performance for tasks like sentiment analysis, multi-tasking learning, and natural reasoning. The real game-changer? A staggering 53% reduction in inference costs. This makes ERNIE Lite ideal for deployment on even low-powered AI accelerator cards.
ERNIE Tiny: Tiny but mighty, this is the most affordable and lightweight model of the bunch. ERNIE Tiny shines in applications where low latency and cost-effectiveness are paramount, excelling in areas like retrieval, recommendation, and intent recognition. In tests focused on conversational recommendations, ERNIE Tiny displayed exceptional ability to generate search engine keywords, boosting dialogue interactions by 3.5% compared to ERNIE 3.5, all while slashing costs by 32%.

But Baidu AI Cloud’s offerings extend beyond general-purpose models. They’ve also introduced two specialty models:

ERNIE Character: This model injects life into roleplaying scenarios, allowing businesses to create engaging non-playable characters (NPCs) for video games or develop intelligent chatbots for customer service.
ERNIE Functions: Designed for businesses that need to integrate external tools or internal functionalities, ERNIE Functions streamlines the process. Businesses can bypass the fine-tuning stage and directly leverage these pre-trained models to develop their own intelligent assistants.

Baidu AI Cloud has also improved the Qianfan AppBuilder toolkit. This includes 55 new tools designed to make developing AI-native applications a breeze. The toolkit now has a comprehensive suite of features, with everything from core AI capabilities and Baidu’s proprietary technologies to cutting-edge functionalities like Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) and Generative Business Intelligence (GBI).

The Qianfan platform has already empowered 80,000 businesses. With daily usage surging by an impressive 97% quarter-over-quarter since December 2023, Qianfan is solidifying its position as a true powerhouse for AI model development.

Baidu Stocks Rebound: Confidence restored amidst Military link rumors

Joane — Tue, 16 Jan 2024 08:04:39 +0000

Baidu, the Chinese multinational tech company, experienced a noteworthy rebound in its stocks, climbing by 3.3% after facing a recent downturn. The market response came after rumors suggesting a potential link between Baidu’s chatbot ERNIE and military research, caused a significant drop in the company’s market value.

In response to the speculations, Baidu has swiftly issued an official statement vehemently denying any connections to military endeavors. The company clarified that its ERNIE Bot is publicly accessible and grounded in an academic paper from a Chinese university. Baidu further emphasized that it had no collaboration with the authors or the affiliated institutions mentioned in the academic paper, distancing itself from any military associations.

Pekingnology, renowned for its in-depth analysis, debunked the South China Morning Post (SCMP) claims, underscoring that the research in question involved only three prompts and three answers. Pekingnology characterized the research as a preliminary idea, not indicative of military AI, but rather exploring the theoretical use of language models.

Market analysts chimed in on the situation, with Macquarie’s research report suggesting that the market reaction to Baidu’s temporary stock decline was “overdone.” UBS also supported this viewpoint, asserting that the market likely overreacted to the SCMP news regarding language models (LLMs). UBS recommended a “Buy” rating for Baidu, providing a 12-month price target of US $175.

The positive investor response indicates a rebound in confidence following Baidu’s strong denial and clarifications. As the market reevaluates the situation, these developments underscore the delicate balance between speculative reports, company responses, and the broader financial landscape in the tech industry.

Baidu’s ERNIE AI Bot Crosses the 100-Million-User Milestone

Anubhav — Thu, 28 Dec 2023 14:36:17 +0000

Baidu, a Chinese leader in AI technology, has achieved a significant breakthrough with its ERNIE Bot, a state-of-the-art generative AI tool. This bot, which is a product of the ERNIE Foundation Model, has now reached over 100 million users. What’s more impressive is the ERNIE Foundation Model 4.0, which has seen a 32% boost in performance in just two months.

Baidu claims that the bot has produced 3.7 billion words in workplaces

Since its debut in late August 2023, ERNIE Bot has rapidly become a go-to solution for a wide range of tasks. Its versatility is evident in its usage statistics: it has produced 3.7 billion words in workplace settings, aided over 2 million professional users, penned 300 million lines of code, and processed 400 million words in contracts. It’s not just about work, though. ERNIE Bot has also created 5 million travel plans and helped write 10.83 million supportive messages, earning 20 million likes from users.

These numbers are more than just statistics. They reflect a growing reliance on AI tools in everyday life and work. From drafting codes to planning trips, ERNIE Bot is reshaping how we approach tasks that were once time-consuming and complex. It’s a testament to the evolving relationship between humans and technology, where AI is no longer just an assistant but a collaborator.

Baidu’s commitment to advancing AI doesn’t stop with ERNIE Bot. The Wave Summit highlighted the company’s PaddlePaddle platform, which has become a critical resource for developers and enterprises. With over 10.7 million developers and 235,000 enterprises using it to create 860,000 models, PaddlePaddle is at the forefront of AI innovation.

The rise in ERNIE Bot’s popularity, combined with the continuous improvements in the ERNIE Foundation Model, signals a significant shift in AI’s role in our lives. As these tools become more integrated into various sectors, we can expect to see more groundbreaking changes, simplifying tasks and opening new possibilities for innovation and efficiency.

Baidu’s Ernie Bot 3.5 AI outperforms ChatGPT in some key metrics

Soumyakanti — Wed, 28 Jun 2023 18:55:55 +0000

Baidu, China’s leading search engine provider, has announced that its newest AI model, Ernie 3.5, has surpassed OpenAI’s ChatGPT in various key metrics. In addition, Baidu claims that Ernie 3.5 has outperformed GPT-4 in several Chinese language capabilities. These assertions were made based on comprehensive ability scores derived from tests conducted by China Science Daily, using datasets like AGIEval and C-Eval, commonly used benchmarks for evaluating AI model performance.

Credit: CNBC

Advancements in Chinese Language Capabilities with Ernie 3.5

The emergence of ChatGPT, supported by Microsoft, has sparked a wave of excitement around AI technology globally, including in China. This has prompted several domestic companies, such as Baidu, Alibaba Group, and Tencent Holdings, to develop their own AI models to compete in this space. Huawei is set to unveil its highly anticipated Pangu AI model upgrade on July 7, further fueling the competitive landscape and innovation in the industry.

Baidu introduced its language AI Ernie Bot earlier this year, making it the first major Chinese tech company to offer an AI product as a rival to ChatGPT. Ernie Bot, built on Baidu’s previous Ernie 3.0 AI model, has been undergoing invite-only testing for the past three months.

Baidu highlights that its new Ernie 3.5 model boasts improved training and inference efficiency, setting the stage for faster and more cost-effective iterations in the future. Baidu also mentions that Ernie 3.5 supports external “plugins,” which are additional applications enabling the AI to handle specific scenarios like text summarization and generating precise answers. Notably, ChatGPT introduced plugin support earlier this year as well.

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Baidu Shares Fall amidst a disappointing launch of Ernie Bot: The much-awaited rival of ChatGPT

Joane — Fri, 17 Mar 2023 10:31:22 +0000

Baidu launched Ernie Bot the AI chatbot which will compete with ChatGPT, yesterday at Baidu’s Beijing Headquarter. The launch event saw CEO Robin Li presenting slides of images and pre-recorded videos of the chatbot instead of a live demo. Even the recorded videos did not show any extraordinary features, which ultimately led to a fall in the company’s share price.

source: Baidu Launch Event

The hour-long launch event gave a very small glimpse of the much-awaited Ernie Bot which was speculated to take on the world’s most famous AI app ChtaGPT. ChatGPT is taking the world by storm with its ability to converse like a human, compose music, write and debug computer programs, write stories, poetries, fairy tales, essays, and speeches, take tests, and more. However, the launch event of Ernie Bot showed very limited features like the bot carrying out mathematical calculations, speaking in Chinese dialects, and generating a video and image with text prompts.

Also where ChatGPT was opened to the general public last November, Ernie Bot is still developing and Baidu has released the beta version to selected users only. The company said that it will open the chatbot for a small group of individual users with invitation codes. Corporate organizations who wish to use the chatbot’s service can embed the bot into their products via Baidu’s cloud platform.

Baidu’s Share Price and Future Value

Last month when Baidu announced its plan to take on ChatGPT with the indigenous Ernie Bot the company shares soar within hours and gained almost 15%. However, the use of pre-recorded videos and lack of public launch disappointed the investors and send the company stocks crashing. Baidu’s Hong Kong shares fell as much as 10% during the event and closed at a 6.4% lower price. The company lost almost $3 billion in market value within an hour.

During the presentation, CEO Li admitted that Ernie Bot was far from perfect and was launched not because it was ready but only because the market demanded it. Post-event, the company said that after the release of ChatGPT, only Baidu has made a benchmark product among the major tech companies in the world. Though the company did not comment on the sharp drop in stock price, it released an official statement saying that the traffic on Baidu’s cloud was soaring as more than 30,000 corporate users had applied to test the API of Ernie Bot’s business-facing edition.

86Research analyst Charlie Chai said that though the event didn’t go well with investors, he still viewed Baidu as the best in China’s AI space. He further added that he would still advise investors to patiently hold on to Baidu shares as the company has great future prospects.

Baidu has great plans for using Artificial Intelligence in almost all segments of its business. The company has spent years in research and Development and invested extensively in Artificial Intelligence and Deep Learning Technology. The company’s game plan is to use Ernie Bot to revolutionize its search engine and advance its cloud services. It also plans to integrate the AI chatbot with its smart car technology and household appliances thereby creating a whole new eco-system controlled by Artificial Intelligence.

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