Four Chinese tech companies, including Baidu Inc. and SenseTime Group, launched their artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots to the public on Thursday after obtaining government approval, as the Chinese government tries to expand the use of such products amid competition with the United States.
Baidu, China's leading online search provider, said in a statement that its ChatGPT-like chatbot, Ernie Bot, was now fully accessible to the public. A SenseTime spokesperson emailed Reuters that its chatbot, SenseChat, was also now "fully available to serve all users."
Two AI startups, Baichuan Intelligent Technology and Zhipu AI, also announced similar public launches on Thursday.
Shares in Baidu and SenseTime jumped in early Hong Kong trade, gaining 3.1% and 2.7%, respectively, in a broader market that was trading 0.4 percent lower.
Unlike other countries, China requires companies to submit security assessments and receive clearance before releasing mass-market AI products.
Authorities have recently accelerated efforts to support companies developing AI as the technology increasingly becomes a focus of competition with the U.S.
Chinese media reported that a total of 11 firms had received approvals from the government, including TikTok owner ByteDance and Tencent Holdings. Neither company immediately responded to requests for comment about their AI plans.
It is unclear whether Alibaba has received approval as of this week. But an Alibaba Cloud spokesperson told Reuters that the company has completed filings for its AI model, Tongyi Qianwen and that the model is awaiting its official launch.
The person also said the company expects the regulators to release a list of companies with approvals within the coming week.
Being the first to market in China is considered critical for the country's cut-throat internet industry. Baidu's Ernie Bot topped the free app category on Apple's App Store in China on Thursday after the announcement.
"I think the ones that got approved have an early mover advantage to be able to fine-tune their product faster than competitors," Kai Wang, an analyst at Morningstar.
ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, which is backed by Microsoft, is on track to generate more than $1 billion in revenue over the next 12 months, tech-focused publication The Information reported on Tuesday.
The approvals were widely anticipated after China published a set of interim rules to regulate generative AI products for the public that went into effect on Aug. 15.
Previously, companies were only allowed to conduct small-scale public tests of AI products, but with the new rules, companies have widened their AI product tests by enabling more features and engaging in more marketing. Prior government approval is not needed for products targeting businesses.
Shawn Yang, an analyst at Blue Lotus Capital Advisors, said the government's move to greenlight AI products could spark consolidation in the industry.
"Many people were rushing into the large language model business," he said, "But the industry may soon consolidate. Only those with data and tech capability can push forward."