Threatened by ChatGPT & Copilot, Baidu will make its AI chatbot free

Chinese tech giant Baidu has announced that its AI chatbot, Ernie Bot, will be free for all users starting April 1.

The move comes as the company faces intense competition from global rivals like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Microsoft’s Copilot, as well as domestic competitors such as DeepSeek and ByteDance’s Doubao.

The company said the decision was made possible by technological upgrades and reduced operational costs. Advanced features, including enhanced search capabilities and multilingual conversations, will also be free. Previously, Baidu charged up to 59.9 yuan ($8.18) per month for these premium features.

Baidu’s shares jumped over 11% in Hong Kong following the announcement.

Despite being one of the first Chinese tech firms to launch a ChatGPT-like service, Baidu has struggled to gain a significant user base.

Ernie Bot lags behind competitors in daily active users, including DeepSeek, which has been praised for its cost-effective AI model. Analysts suggest that by making Ernie Bot free, Baidu hopes to attract more users, allowing it to gather valuable data to improve its AI technology.

OpenAI has recently updated its guidelines to allow more freedom on sensitive topics and permit mature content in appropriate contexts, though things like deepfake and revenge porn are still fortunately strict.

These updates come ahead of the launch of GPT-4.5 and GPT-5, which are expected in the coming weeks or months.

Microsoft, on the other hand, is bringing NPU-optimized DeepSeek R1 models to Copilot+ PCs, starting with Snapdragon X chips and later expanding to Intel Core Ultra 200V. These models will run locally, ensuring user data is not sent to the cloud or China.