Baidu, the dominant Chinese search engine, announced on Monday that it would not go ahead with a livestreamed media event and public unveiling of its ChatGPT-like Ernie Bot.
The webcast, which was originally slated for Monday afternoon, has been changed to a private gathering with the first group of businesses testing the product, according to a statement released by Baidu on Monday morning.
The business stated that the format shift was necessary to meet the “strong demand” from the 120,000 companies that applied to test the Ernie bot. It also stated that this would be the first of many meetings held behind closed doors.
Initial news of the postponement caused Baidu’s Hong Kong-listed shares to decline as much as 4.5% on Monday morning.
China’s version of ChatGPT, known as Ernie bot, was introduced on March 16 by Baidu CEO Robin Li. During a livestreamed presentation, Li took journalists through a number of pre-recorded demos showcasing the Chinese chatbot’s various powers.
While the presentation was still being livestreamed, the stock price of the business fell, but it soon recovered thanks in part to the Chinese corporate sector’s strong demand for generative artificial intelligence (AI), the technology that underpins goods like Ernie bot and ChatGPT.
