The source said that the technology firm plans to launch the
service as a standalone application and gradually merge it into its search
engine.
ChatGPT’s technology works by learning from vast amounts of
data how to answer prompts by users in a human-like manner, offering information
like a search engine or even prose like an aspiring novelist.
Chatbots in China currently focus on social interaction
whereas ChatGPT performs better at more professional tasks, such as programming
and essay writing.
The person further mentions that Baidu plans to encompass
chatbot-generated results when users make search requests, instead of only
links.
Baidu declined to comment.
Reuters has said that Microsoft Corp has a $1 billion
investment in San Francisco-based OpenAI that it has looked at increasing. The
company has also worked to add OpenAI’s image-generation software to its Bing
search engine in a new challenge to Alphabet Inc’s Google.
Beijing-based Baidu has been investing heavily in AI
technology, including in cloud services, chips and autonomous driving, as it
looks to expand its revenue sources.
After Bloomberg’s report, the company’s shares rose as much
as 5.8%, the largest intraday gain in almost four weeks.
Baidu has spent billions of dollars researching Artificial
intelligence in a years-long effort to transition from online marketing to
deeper technology. Its Ernie system — a large-scale machine-learning model
that’s been trained on data over several years — will be the foundation of its
upcoming ChatGPT-like bot.
A Chinese multinational technology giant, Baidu specializes
in Internet-related services and products and artificial intelligence (AI). It
has its headquarters in Beijing’s Haidian District. It is one of the largest
Artificial intelligence and Internet companies in the world. The holding
company of the group is situated in the Cayman Islands. Baidu was encompassed
in January 2000 by Robin Li and Eric Xu. Baidu has origins in RankDex, an
earlier search engine developed by Robin Li in 1996, before he founded Baidu in
2000.
Baidu offers various services, including a Chinese search
engine, as well as a mapping service called Baidu Maps. Baidu offers about 57
search and community services, such as Baidu Baike (an online encyclopedia),
Baidu Wangpan (a cloud storage service), and Baidu Tieba (a keyword-based
discussion forum).