China’s generative AI users reach 230 million as start-ups, Big Tech roll out LLM services
Chinese tech giant Baidu’s Ernie Bot is the most frequently used GenAI product by domestic users, with an 11.5 per cent share
The number of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) users in China reached 230 million at the end of June, as a crop of start-ups and Big Tech firms rushed to offer their large language model (LLM) services, according to government data.
That means around one in every six users in the world’s biggest internet market are using a GenAI product, according to a report released on Saturday by the China Internet Network Information Centre (CNNIC), a state-run agency.
Chinese tech giant Baidu’s Ernie Bot, known as Wenxiaoyan in Chinese, is the most frequently used GenAI product by domestic users, with an 11.5 per cent share, according to the CNNIC report. It was followed by OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini, with 7 per cent and 3.8 per cent share respectively, although the two US services are not officially available in mainland China.
GenAI refers to algorithms that can be used to create new content, including audio, code, images, text, simulations and videos. LLMs are the technology behind GenAI services like ChatGPT.
Nearly two-thirds of GenAI users on the mainland employ LLM services to answer questions, while one-third rely on them as working assistants to generate meeting transcripts and slides, the report showed.
