ERNIE Bot Opens to Public, Intensifying Large Model Competition in Consumer Market
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"After a week of rumors, it's finally official." In the early hours of August 31, professionals in the large model field breathed a sigh of relief. The tech community was abuzz overnight with the news that Baidu's ERNIE Bot officially opened to the public, followed by Baichuan Intelligence announcing its approval for public service. Additionally, large model products from ByteDance, Zhipu AI, Chinese Academy of Sciences, SenseTime, MiniMax, and Shanghai AI Laboratory are now directly available to the public. The capital market also reacted enthusiastically, with Baidu's stock price rising 3.4% and SenseTime's increasing 2.65% by midday on August 31.
Functionally, there's little change in these large model products before and after their public release. The key difference is that users can now download and use them directly, bypassing the need to apply for beta testing. An insider from a large model company not on the list told Beijing Business Daily, "User applications for beta testing are approved very quickly." The "Interim Measures for the Management of Generative Artificial Intelligence Services," implemented on August 15, proposes inclusive, prudent, and classified supervision of generative AI services. Providers offering generative AI services with public opinion attributes or social mobilization capabilities must comply with the "Internet Information Service Algorithm Recommendation Management Provisions" for algorithm filing and modification procedures. The opening of multiple large model products signals policy approval, marking the start of intense competition in the application space.
No Beta Application Required for Immediate Use
In the early hours of August 31, Baidu's ERNIE Bot announced it would be the first to fully open to the public. Users can download the "ERNIE Bot App" from app stores or visit its official website to experience it. On March 16, ERNIE Bot began invite-only testing, with the first batch of users accessing the product via invitation codes. In early July, Baidu launched the iOS version of the ERNIE Bot App, but users still needed beta access to try its AIGC (AI-generated content) features.
Subsequent products like Alibaba's Tongyi Qianwen, 360's Zhiniao, and iFlytek's Spark Cognitive Large Model followed a similar user experience process, though the wait time for beta access shortened progressively. Now, users can directly access the eight open large model products without any application.
According to the "Interim Measures for the Management of Generative Artificial Intelligence Services," providers of generative AI services with public opinion or social mobilization capabilities must conduct safety assessments per national regulations and complete algorithm filing procedures under the "Internet Information Service Algorithm Recommendation Management Provisions."
"The opening of these large model products indicates that the filing process is now operational, which is positive for industry development. It removes user experience barriers and demonstrates the gradual refinement of large model management processes," said Zhang Yu, a senior AI engineer at the Chinese Academy of Sciences' National Science Library, to Beijing Business Daily.
Which Star Products Are Still Waiting?
As a key player, how will China's large model approvals impact the industry? Beijing Business Daily posed this question to Baidu and Baichuan Intelligence, but representatives declined to comment. However, ERNIE Bot and Baichuan's large model responded readily.
ERNIE Bot replied: "Promoting the development and application of large models, enhancing China's AI capabilities, increasing public trust in large models, and advancing industry standardization." Baichuan's model responded: "As a large language model, I cannot express personal views, but I can analyze potential impacts of China's large model filings: improving market transparency, fostering competition, protecting user rights, aiding policy formulation, and strengthening international cooperation."
Not all companies with open large models made high-profile announcements. As of press time, ByteDance representatives remained low-key.
Alibaba Cloud, 360, and iFlytek shared updates on their large model filings with Beijing Business Daily.
"Under the guidance of the 'Interim Measures for the Management of Generative Artificial Intelligence Services' jointly issued by seven national ministries, 'Tongyi Qianwen' has completed filing and awaits official launch. The first batch of approved companies will be announced by local authorities within a week," an Alibaba Cloud representative said.
iFlytek stated, "We have completed the first batch of filing submissions. The list of approved companies is expected to be notified by local authorities in about a week." 360 similarly confirmed completing its filing submission.
Reports suggest Huawei and Tencent's large model products will also open to the public soon, but neither company responded by press time.
No User Fees at Current Stage
"Once Ernie Bot is widely available to users, it will collect substantial real-world human feedback, further refining the foundational model and accelerating its iterations," said Baidu founder Robin Li from a product perspective.
McKinsey's report The Economic Potential of Generative AI: The Next Productivity Frontier indicates that applying the 63 analyzed generative AI use cases across industries could add $2.6–4.4 trillion annually to the global economy. This estimate excludes unstudied applications, which could double the economic impact.
Since the explosion of the "hundred-model battle," the notion of "rebuilding all applications" has gained traction, with many apps now incorporating large model capabilities. Recently, Beijing Business Daily noted an "AI" icon on Baidu App's homepage—a large model-powered assistant aiding users in content creation and problem-solving.
Will large models charge end-users post-launch? A Baidu representative confirmed, "Not currently." Wang Chao, founder of Wenyuan Think Tank, observed, "From beta to full release, Baidu likely leads domestic large models in user base, despite significant investments. The free model drives soaring technical costs, but Baidu prioritizes user adoption. Moreover, the open release boosted Baidu's stock, making it a worthwhile trade-off."
Wang added, "If Baidu remains free, other large model products will struggle to monetize."