TikTok Owner ByteDance Joins Generative AI Frenzy with Service for Chatbot Development, Memo Says

ByteDance, the Chinese company behind TikTok, is set to launch an open platform that will allow users to create their own chatbots.

Credit: ByteDance

This move comes as ByteDance aims to catch up in the field of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and compete with companies like Baidu and Alibaba.

According to an internal memo seen by the South China Morning Post, the "bot development platform" will be launched as a public beta by the end of the month. ByteDance's strategic vision is to explore new generative AI products and integrate them with their existing offerings.

ByteDance has been working on its own text-to-image generator similar to Midjourney, a source familiar with the matter revealed. However, the company has not yet responded to requests for comment.

Known for its recommendation algorithms, which are considered the secret behind TikTok's success, ByteDance is now entering the market of offering large language models (LLMs) as a service. Other tech giants, including OpenAI and Baidu, have already ventured into this space. OpenAI recently allowed users to create custom versions of ChatGPT without any coding experience required.

Baidu, the first Chinese tech giant to launch a ChatGPT rival called Ernie Bot, introduced Qianfan, a platform for enterprise users to develop LLMs and related services. Alibaba Cloud, the cloud computing department of Alibaba Group Holding, also launched Bailian, a similar platform for customised large language models.

While OpenAI has not made its services available in mainland China or Hong Kong, Microsoft has been promoting its GPT-powered Copilot across Asia, including Hong Kong. Google has also entered the chatbot market with its Bard chatbot.

ByteDance's entry into the generative AI space reflects the growing demand for AI-powered chatbots and language models. With the launch of their bot development platform, ByteDance aims to tap into this frenzy and provide users with the tools to create their own chatbot experiences.

---

• ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, is launching a bot development platform for chatbot creation.

• The platform will be launched as a public beta by the end of the month.

• ByteDance aims to explore new generative AI products and integrate them with existing offerings.

• Other tech giants, including Baidu and Alibaba, have already entered the market of offering large language models as a service.

Source: SCMP