TikTok Explores ChatGPT-Style Bot Joining The AI Race

ByteDance Ltd. is currently experimenting with an AI-driven chatbot for its staff, as it competes with other Chinese internet giants such as Baidu Inc. and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. to develop a domestic alternative to ChatGPT.

The TikTok owner has given the project the code name “Grace,” a ByteDance spokesperson said, without disclosing further details. Employees using the service are greeted by a pop-up message saying it’s based on several major language models, according to one of the testers, who asked to remain anonymous to discuss an internal project.

The mysterious chatbot is the first official indication of ByteDance’s push into the emerging field of generative artificial intelligence, which took off after OpenAI demonstrated its potential with the launch of ChatGPT in November. The Chinese company, which also runs domestic video service Douyin, has been developing smartphone apps for AI algorithm recommendations since computer geeks Zhang Yiming and Liang Rubo founded the outfit more than a decade ago.

China’s Internet sector has begun a headlong rush into AI investment. Search leader Baidu delivered the first major response to ChatGPT in March, the Ernie Bot, which triggered the exposure of competing platforms among rival companies such as Alibaba, Tencent Holdings Ltd and SenseTime Group Inc. Local Chinese press had reported that ByteDance was developing its own major language models, which the company did not confirm.

All of them are vying for dominance in the lucrative domestic market in the absence of ChatGPT and Western partners such as Google’s Bard. China’s top internet regulator has said it will require a security assessment of generative artificial intelligence tools before they can be deployed. In turn, US sanctions have taken away the best chips for training their AI models from Chinese tech companies.

Globally, TikTok is also experimenting with a chatbot called Tako. For now, it appears as an instant message on TikTok’s main platform, where users can ask questions.