Amid stiff competition, Baidu says it’s making its AI chatbot free to use. Starting on April 1, will be available to users at no cost. Baidu says it will also issue refunds to users in some cases. The company cited reduced costs and tech improvements as reasons for making ERNIE Bot free across desktop and mobile.
Moreover, Baidu plans to roll out an advanced search function on the same day, per . This will also be available for free and is said to include upgraded reasoning capability.
Baidu started offering premium features in its search engine in late 2023. Those were powered by advanced AI models such as . The company charged around $8 per month (59.9 yuan) for those features.
While Baidu was one of the first major Chinese companies to amid the rise of ChatGPT, ERNIE is said to have struggled to find widespread adoption. By contrast, Reuters reports that domestic rivals such as the Doubao chatbot from ByteDance and upstart DeepSeek (which ) have seen stronger user adoption, according to a third-party data tracker.
Trending Products
![cimetech EasyTyping KF10 Wireless Keyboard and Mouse Combo, [Silent Scissor Switch Keys][Labor-Saving Keys]Ultra Slim Wireless Computer Keyboard and Mouse, Easy Setup for PC/Laptop/Mac/Windows – Grey](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/415Vb6gl+PL._SS300_.jpg)
cimetech EasyTyping KF10 Wireless Keyboard and Mouse Combo, [Silent Scissor Switch Keys][Labor-Saving Keys]Ultra Slim Wireless Computer Keyboard and Mouse, Easy Setup for PC/Laptop/Mac/Windows – Grey
Wireless Keyboard and Mouse Ultra Slim Combo, TopMate 2.4G Silent Compact USB 2400DPI Mouse and Scissor Switch Keyboard Set with Cover, Batteries Included, for PC/Laptop/Windows/Mac – White
![Dell Inspiron 15 3000 3520 Business Laptop Computer[Windows 11 Pro], 15.6” FHD Touchscreen, 11th Gen Intel Quad-Core i5-1135G7, 16GB RAM, 1TB PCIe SSD, Numeric Keypad, Wi-Fi, Webcam, HDMI, Black](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51O3nNfyJPL._SS300_.jpg)
