The chatbot will be available at no cost across desktop and mobile platforms, the company said in a WeChat post.
The move comes as Baidu faces increasing competition in China’s AI sector, particularly from DeepSeek, a startup that offers free AI chatbot services it claims rival OpenAI’s advanced models at a lower cost.
Baidu was among the first Chinese companies to enter the AI race following OpenAI’s release of ChatGPT in 2022, but adoption of its Ernie large language model has been slower than expected.
While Baidu claims its latest version, Ernie 4.0, matches the capabilities of OpenAI’s GPT-4, its AI tools have trailed domestic competitors such as ByteDance’s Doubao chatbot and DeepSeek, according to AI product tracker Aicpb.com.
In late 2023, Baidu introduced premium AI-powered features to its search engine, charging 59.9 yuan (US$8.18) per month.
However, the company announced Thursday that it will also offer an advanced AI search feature for free starting April 1, promising improved reasoning capabilities and better tool integration to deliver expert-level responses.
