Ernie Bot - Baidu's Conversational AI

Baidu's conversational AI with built-in web search, knowledge graphs, and deep integration with Chinese internet services.

🔗 Official Website →

locale: “en”

What is Ernie Bot?

Ernie Bot is Baidu’s flagship large language model, designed for conversational AI with real-time web search, knowledge graph integration, and deep ties to Baidu’s ecosystem. It excels at finding recent information, answering questions grounded in facts, and understanding Chinese context.

Key Features

• Built-in web search: Access current information without needing separate tools
• Knowledge graph: Enhanced by Baidu’s massive knowledge base
• Chinese-centric: Trained on Baidu’s corpus of Chinese web pages, documents, and user queries
• Real-time updates: Information retrieval happens at query time
• Multimodal: Text + image understanding (Ernie-Vision)
• API + Web: Free web interface; paid API for developers

Versions & Plans

Ernie Bot Web (Free)

• Access: https://www.ernie.ai (free tier, limited daily requests)
• Signup: Required with Baidu account
• Usage: Instant, no API key needed

Ernie Bot API (Paid)

• Pricing: ¥0.008-0.02 per 1K tokens (input), ¥0.02-0.08 (output), depending on model
• Models:
  • Ernie-3.5 (fast, cost-effective)
  • Ernie-4.0 (powerful reasoning)
  • Ernie-Vision (multimodal)
• Rate limits: Scalable based on tier

Strengths

• Real-time information: Built-in web search beats static knowledge cutoffs
• Chinese expertise: Unmatched understanding of Chinese language nuance and current events
• Knowledge grounding: Fact-checked via Baidu’s knowledge graph
• Free web tier: No credit card required to start experimenting
• Baidu ecosystem: Integrates with Baidu Search, Maps, Baike, Tieba
• Low latency: Servers optimized for Chinese users

Limitations

• English ability: Weaker than ChatGPT/Claude on pure English tasks
• API complexity: Documentation in Chinese; steep learning curve for non-Chinese speakers
• Smaller global community: Limited English-language tutorials and examples
• Content moderation: Stricter filtering on sensitive political topics (by design)
• Hallucinations: Can still invent sources despite search integration
• International access: VPN or Chinese phone number may be required for signup

Pricing (Typical)

As of Jan 2026; check official pricing for latest rates.

Core Capabilities

Conversation & Q&A with Search

• Answer current-event questions
• Find recent news articles
• Retrieve facts from web in real-time

Content Creation

• Blog posts grounded in current information
• Social media copy (Weibo, WeChat)
• News summaries with sources

Knowledge Lookup

• Definition and explanation
• Historical and recent events
• Academic research citations

Multimodal (Ernie-Vision)

• Analyze images and charts
• Extract text from screenshots
• Understand diagrams and infographics

Common Workflows

Scenario 1: News reporter checking breaking news

Goal: Verify latest stock market data for article
Tool: Ernie Bot web (free)
Result: Real-time data, no need for separate terminal or API

Scenario 2: E-commerce assistant for Baidu Tieba community

Goal: Respond to customer questions with product links
Tool: Ernie-4.0 API + Baidu ecosystem integration
Result: Accurate, contextual answers with web-sourced info

Scenario 3: Medical Q&A platform

Goal: Answer health questions with recent research
Tool: Ernie-Vision + knowledge graph
Result: Accurate, sourced responses with images when needed

Comparison

Privacy & Security

• API mode: Data stored on Baidu servers; follows Chinese data protection laws
• Web mode: Subject to Baidu’s privacy policy; search history may be retained
• Compliance: SOC 2 certification for enterprise users; GDPR not applicable (Chinese service)

Getting Started

Try It Free

1. Visit https://www.ernie.ai
2. Sign up with Baidu account (or WeChat/Alipay)
3. Start chatting immediately

Use via API (Python)

import requests

url = "https://aip.baidubce.com/rpc/2.0/ai_custom/v1/wenxinworkshop/chat/ernie-4.0-turbo-128k"
headers = {
    "Content-Type": "application/json"
}
payload = {
    "messages": [
        {"role": "user", "content": "最新的股票市场怎样？"}
    ]
}
# Requires Baidu OAuth token; get via access_token endpoint
params = {"access_token": "YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN"}
response = requests.post(url, json=payload, headers=headers, params=params)
print(response.json())

Integrate into Your App

• Use Baidu’s official SDKs (available for Python, Java, Go, Node.js)
• Check docs: https://cloud.baidu.com/doc/WENXIN/latest

Resources

• Official: https://www.ernie.ai
• API Docs: https://cloud.baidu.com/doc/WENXIN/latest
• GitHub: https://github.com/baidubce/bce-sdk-python
• Community: Baidu AI Forum, WeChat official account

What’s New (Jan 2026)

• Ernie-4.0-Turbo released with improved reasoning
• Extended context windows (up to 128K for Pro tier)
• Enhanced multimodal capabilities in Ernie-Vision
• Reduced API latency for Chinese regions

Summary

Ernie Bot is the best choice if you need current information fast in a Chinese context. Its real-time web search, knowledge graph grounding, and Baidu ecosystem integration make it uniquely powerful for news, research, and customer service in China.

Best for: News organizations, customer service teams, researchers needing real-time data, businesses operating in China, anyone prioritizing fact-checked answers.

Try it: Sign up free on Ernie.ai; start with the web chat before upgrading to API.