Baidu's ERNIE chatbot, launched with great fanfare two weeks ago, has gone missing.

Baidu last week invited media, including The Register, to a Monday product launch at which it promised to reveal "a series of ERNIE Bot cloud services and application products."

"Enterprises of different types can choose cloud services and products based on their own needs, enabling them to conveniently, quickly, and cost-effectively build their own models and applications," we were told.

Baidu even provided a link to a Zoom session at which ERNIE's tricks would be revealed.

Then … nothing. The event did not take place as promised and ERNIE's cloudy incarnation has not been sighted since.

Tempting as it is to suggest ERNIE has gone rogue and ignored its human masters, the situation is probably related to the bot's performance. After ERNIE's debut, Baidu admitted that the demos it showed were recorded, not live, because the bot makes for dull viewing while it goes through its mental gears.

The likes of ChatGPT and Bing AI can also go blank while their silicon innards go to work - an experience The Register found disconcerting when testing the BingBot's generative AI iteration.

Baidu later said that demand for ERNIE is so high it will instead run smaller demos for the 100,000-plus entities that have signed up to explore the service.

With Google having been roasted for making mistakes in its initial generative AI demos - causing a mighty hit to Adzilla's share price - Baidu had plenty of reasons to back off.

Indeed the Chinese firm's share price dipped on Monday after the demo was dumped. But it has since rebounded on news that ERNIE will be added to Baidu's forthcoming electric vehicles.

Baidu remains open to applications from those who fancy taking ERNIE for a stroll. A registration form is available here. ®

https://www.theregister.com//2023/03/29/baidus_ernie_chatbot_goes_awol/