Baidu and ByteDance Unveil AI Chatbots, Setting Stage for Rivalry with Microsoft, Google

Baidu, Inc BIDU, alongside TikTok parent ByteDance Ltd, showcased their AI chatbots to the masses this Thursday, following a nod from Beijing regulators.

These AI-centric launches are considered a countermove to Microsoft Corp's MSFT acclaimed OpenAI, the Financial Times reports. These giants and several fledgling AI companies also procured regulatory blessings to mainstream their chatbot technology in China.

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Robin Li, the brains behind Baidu, emphasized the significance of this public launch to gain invaluable, real-world human insights, speeding up the chatbot's efficiency and adaptability. Meanwhile, ByteDance, home to various specialized teams honing different generative AI tools, introduced its 'Doubao' chatbot.

While China ventures deeper into AI chatbot territory, it trails behind Microsoft and Alphabet Inc GOOG GOOGL Google. 

OpenAI's GPT-4, the latest rendition, offers a dual-input mode – images and text. Boris Van, from Bernstein, flagged the urgency for China to go public with their models. He stressed that with each day of inactivity, they fall further behind their American competitors.

Beijing mandates tech conglomerates to obtain approval before launching generative AI services to maintain strict oversight of the content relayed by these AI chatbots. 

Last week, Alibaba Group Holding Limited BABA launched a fresh AI model capable of comprehending images and executing more tricky conversations. 

The company diverted attention by making its two new open-source models, Qwen-VL and Qwen-VL-Chat.

In another stride in the AI chatbot sphere, the United Arab Emirates made its mark. An AI entity associated with Abu Dhabi's elite introduced what they label the finest Arabic AI software.

Price Action: BIDU shares traded lower by 1.43% at $143.00 premarket on the last check Thursday.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.