According to the STAR Market Daily, Alibaba is looking for businesses to test its AI chatbot Tongyi Qianwen, following the success of Microsoft-backed OpenAI’s ChatGPT. ChatGPT is a large language model (LLM) that can generate articles and essays on demand in response to user prompts, and it has been free to use since its public release in November of last year. Alibaba has made its AI application available for testing by companies, although details have not been disclosed.
A source close to the matter confirmed to Reuters that the Tongyi Qianwen chatbot is an LLM designed for business users. Alibaba’s cloud computing division released a teaser message on social media announcing the AI application’s name, and inviting feedback from users.
The chatbot’s official website offers no details about its use, but users can register their interest by providing their phone numbers and email addresses. Alibaba Cloud has not yet commented on the matter.
The chatbot is expected to be formally launched at an Alibaba Cloud event on Tuesday, where Daniel Zhang, CEO of Alibaba Group and the cloud division, is scheduled to speak. Other companies that have developed AI chatbots include Baidu Inc, which currently limits access to its Ernie Bot to trial users, and Huawei Technologies, which will unveil its natural language processing AI model, Pangu, on Saturday.
Next week, SenseTime will hold an event to showcase “cutting-edge advancements in artificial intelligence software.” Last week, Alibaba announced plans to restructure into six standalone divisions, each with its own board and CEO, with Zhang remaining as the cloud division’s CEO.
