Baidu (9888.HK), a leading Chinese tech company, recently announced that its AI chatbot, "Ernie Bot," had amassed over 200 million users. This milestone underscores Baidu's position as the leading ChatGPT-like chatbot provider in China, amid a rapidly intensifying competitive landscape.

Since the last update in December, Ernie Bot's user base has doubled. Released to the public just nine months ago, the chatbot has seen rapid adoption. According to Baidu CEO Robin Li, Ernie Bot's API is utilised 200 million times daily, indicating the chatbot's widespread application for various tasks.

Li also highlighted that Ernie Bot now has 85,000 enterprise clients. In a recent conference in Shenzhen, he noted that Baidu has begun generating revenue from Ernie Bot. In the fourth quarter alone, the company earned several hundred million yuan by leveraging AI to enhance its advertising services and assist other companies in developing their own models.

Launched in March of last year, Ernie Bot was the first ChatGPT-like chatbot developed in China. It received public release approval in August, among the first eight AI chatbots sanctioned by Beijing.

Accelerated AI Approvals in China

In recent months, China has expedited approvals for AI services, identifying AI as a crucial sector in its technological competition with the U.S. Last week, state media reported that 117 large AI models have received approvals to date.

This surge in AI developments and regulatory support highlights China's commitment to advancing its position in the global AI arena.