Four Chinese tech firms, including Baidu Inc and SenseTime Group, on Thursday, launched their artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots to the public after receiving government approval, as China’s government pushes to widen the use of such products amid competition with the US.
Baidu, China’s leading online search provider, said in a statement that its ChatGPT-like chatbot, Ernie Bot, was now fully accessible to the public. A SenseTime spokesperson told Reuters via email that its chatbot, SenseChat, was also now “fully available to serve all users”.
Two AI startups, Baichuan Intelligent Technology and Zhipu AI, also announced similar public launches on Thursday.
Shares in Baidu and SenseTime jumped in early Hong Kong trade, gaining 3.1 per cent and 2.7 per cent respectively in a broader market that was trading 0.4 per cent lower.
Unlike other countries, China requires companies to submit security assessments and receive clearance before releasing mass-market AI products. Authorities have recently accelerated efforts to support companies developing AI as the technology increasingly becomes a focus of competition with the US.
Chinese media reported that a total of 11 firms had received approvals from the government, including TikTok owner ByteDance and Tencent Holdings. Neither company immediately responded to requests for comment about their AI plans. It is unclear whether Alibaba has received approval as of this week.
