Samsung Electronics Co. will highlight Baidu Inc.’s Ernie Bot as a prominent feature of its new Galaxy S24 smartphone series in China.
In an announcement, Baidu said that its artificial intelligence technologies will assist with text summarization, categorization, and translation. The South Korean manufacturer has positioned its most recent device line as the first of a wave of AI smartphones. It will also supply backend support for Samsung’s “circle to search” feature, which is currently managed by Alphabet Inc.’s Google in other regions.
Most smartphones in China are powered by Google’s Android platform, but the company’s add-on mobile services and app store are unavailable, so local businesses must fill in the gaps with alternatives like Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s WeChat. For Baidu, the Samsung acquisition represents a significant adoption of their Ernie AI, one of the earliest and most successful initiatives to establish a Chinese competitor to OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
Samsung is working to increase its small market share in China, the world’s largest smartphone market. The company’s foldable devices set it apart in the luxury sector, and tighter integration with local services like Baidu’s may encourage more customers to switch from Apple Inc.’s iPhone or local brands.
