0612 GMT - Baidu Inc. is one of the most mentioned companies in the news over the past 10 hours, according to Factiva data, after it confirmed a plan to launch a chatbot next month. The Chinese search giant said Tuesday that it is internally testing an chatbot, called Ernie Bot, that is powered by artificial intelligence. The move comes a day after Alphabet Inc. Chief Executive Sundar Pichai said Google is testing a chatbot with select users. Both these AI projects follow on the immense media buzz sparked by ChatGPT, a chatbot developed by OpenAI, which has attracted significant investment from Microsoft Corp. Baidu shares rose by as much as 18% in Hong Kong on Tuesday after Baidu confirmed reporting, including from The Wall Street Journal late last month. Dow Jones & Co. owns Factiva. (jacques.vanwersch@dowjones.com)


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

02-07-23 0127ET