Starting April 1, Baidu's AI chatbot, Ernie Bot, will be available to everyone for free—and no, this isn't an April Fool's joke.

The Chinese search engine giant made the announcement on WeChat, stating that improved technology and lower costs made it possible to offer Ernie Bot at no charge across both desktop and mobile platforms.

Facing the Heat in China's AI Race

Baidu has been a major player in China's AI chatbot scene since OpenAI launched ChatGPT in 2022, but it hasn't exactly taken the market by storm. Rival startups like DeepSeek have been gaining ground, offering free AI chatbot services that claim to be on par with OpenAI's GPT-4—but with a much lower price tag.

And it's not just DeepSeek. ByteDance's Doubao chatbot has also pulled ahead in user adoption, leaving Baidu scrambling to keep up, according to AI product tracker Aicpb.com.

Ernie 4.0 – Baidu's Big Comeback?

Baidu insists that Ernie 4.0 is as powerful as GPT-4, but getting users to believe it has been the real challenge. To boost adoption, the company had introduced premium search features powered by its AI in late 2023, charging 59.9 yuan (US$8.18 or RM36.66) per month.

Now, in a bold move, Baidu is also making its advanced AI-powered search tools free from April 1, promising better reasoning and expert-level responses.

So, will Ernie Bot finally take off now that it's free? Or will competitors like DeepSeek and ByteDance continue to lead the charge? Either way, one thing's clear—China's AI chatbot wars are heating up, and users are the real winners.