Baidu makes ‘Ernie Bot’ free from April 1 as AI competition intensifies in China
Baidu is making a strategic move to strengthen its position in China’s artificial intelligence race by making its chatbot, Ernie Bot, free to all users starting April 1. The decision signals a shift in the company’s approach as it grapples with intensifying competition from emerging players like DeepSeek and ByteDance’s Doubao.