China approve the release of the first wave of generative AI services, allowing domestic tech titans like Baidu Inc. to publicly compete with companies like OpenAI Inc. and Microsoft Corp.

 

Several businesses, including up-and-coming players and well-known technology brands, may soon receive the go-ahead from the Chinese Cyberspace Administration, according to persons familiar with the situation. One of the people, who asked not to be named because the information is private, predicted that search leader Baidu will be among the first to receive approval from Beijing's top internet watchdog.

 

Baidu announced the public launch of Ernie Bot, a ChatGPT competitor, in a post on its official WeChat account on August 31. The business will also make a number of fresh applications available for people to try out generative AI.

 

The approvals, which come only a few weeks after the government unveiled comprehensive new rules governing AI, would formally introduce ChatGPT-style services to at least one billion internet users.

 

The decision is a turning point for China's emerging AI sector and its aspirant leaders, who have invested billions of dollars in creating services that can compete with the likes of Microsoft Corp. and Alphabet Inc.'s Google since the release of OpenAI's ChatGPT.

 

Beijing views AI as a political and corporate necessity given the technology's revolutionary potential. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd. have subsequently joined a procession of startups in promoting their own foundation models, while Baidu has so far taken the majority of the spotlight with the launch of Ernie Bot in March.