Baidu's shares dive 10% after pre-recorded demo of AI chatbot disappoints

Thursday's launch was to have been a watershed moment for China's technology industry, lifting the lid on how AI has progressed in the world's largest internet economy

Baidu Inc. debuted China’s answer to ChatGPT in a pre-recorded video, disappointing those hoping for a stronger, real-life demo of the country’s highest-profile entry in a race with the US to dominate the transformative technology.

Billionaire founder Robin Li took to a Beijing stage to introduce his company’s “Ernie Bot,” a landmark moment for a search leader that’s struggled in recent years to revitalize growth. But instead of putting the service through its paces in real time, he talked over a scripted video of interactions with the AI. Baidu’s shares fell as much as 10% in afternoon trading in Hong