Baidu stock pops as reports say the company’s chatbot launch is drawing nearer

Baidu Inc.’s U.S.-listed shares
BIDU,
-0.17%
were popping 15% in premarket action Tuesday after reports indicated that the Chinese search giant expects to finish testing its Ernie Bot chatbot in March. Numerous outlets reported early Tuesday on Baidu’s plans for its artificial-intelligence chatbot, and the company’s official Twitter account shared a link to a Reuters story on the topic while asking “What will you be using ERNIE Bot for?” MarketWatch has reached out to Baidu for confirmation of its plans. Wall Street has shown a sharp interest in AI initiatives since the debut of OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot late last year. Baidu’s U.S.-listed shares had rallied 25% so far in 2023 through Monday’s close, though they were on track to build on those gains Tuesday. Shares of enterprise AI company C3.ai Inc.
AI,
+6.45%
are up 146% thus far in 2023, while shares of BuzzFeed Inc.
BZFD,
+2.80%,
which was reported to be planning for ChatGPT usage in its trademark quizzes, are up 219% on the year so far.