Baidu releases new AI tools to promote application development

SHENZHEN, China – One year after Chinese search engine operator Baidu released its ChatGPT-like Ernie bot, the company this week announced tools to encourage locals to develop artificial intelligence applications.

"In China today, there are 1 billion internet users, strong foundation models, sufficient AI application scenarios and the most complete industrial system in the world," CEO Robin Li said in his opening speech at Baidu's annual AI developers conference on Tuesday.

"Everyone can be a developer," he said in Mandarin, according to a CNBC translation.

While many point out how China lags behind the U.S. in artificial intelligence capabilities, others emphasize how the strength of the Chinese market lies more in technological application. Take next-day e-commerce and 30-minute food delivery, for example.

Baidu's newly announced AI tools allow people with no coding knowledge to create generative AI-powered chatbots for specific functions, which can then be integrated in a website, Baidu search engine results or other online portals. That's different from a similar tool called GPTs that OpenAI launched earlier this year, since those custom-built chatbots — for everything from suggesting movies to fixing code — sit within the ChatGPT interface.

The basic Baidu tools are generally available to try for free, up until a certain usage limit, similar to some of Google's cloud and AI functions. OpenAI charges a monthly fee for the latest version of ChatGPT and the ability to use it for computer programs. The older ChatGPT 3.5 model is free to use, but without access to the custom-built GPTs.

Baidu this week also announced three new versions of its Ernie AI model — called "Speed," "Lite" and "Tiny" — that coders can selectively