Baidu Launches Two Free AI Models

The Chinese technology company Baidu announced on Sunday the release of two new free generative artificial intelligence models, which are incorporated within its chatbot, Ernie Bot.

This announcement comes at a time of intense competition in the AI sector, following the entry of Chinese company DeepSeek two months ago with its affordable chatbot.

Baidu unveiled two models: one called X1, which offers performance on par with DeepSeek's model but at a lower cost, and another base model, Ernie 4.5.

According to Baidu, Ernie 4.5 "surpasses" the American GPT-4.5 model from OpenAI in several benchmark tests, while Ernie X1 demonstrates "enhanced capabilities in understanding, planning, reflection, and evolution." This information was shared by Baidu in a message on the social media platform WeChat.

The two tools are available for free through Baidu’s Ernie Bot chatbot, making them accessible to a wide audience.

Following DeepSeek’s lead, Baidu also announced that its AI models will become open-source starting June 30.

Baidu has been among the pioneers in deploying generative AI platforms in 2023. However, with competing chatbots from companies like ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, and Moonshot AI, the market has become quite saturated.

DeepSeek changed the landscape of AI with the launch of its model in January, aiming to be as efficient as ChatGPT, but at a significantly lower price.

AI, Baidu, DeepSeek