Baidu, a global leader in artificial intelligence, has unveiled its latest advancements in AI technology with the launch of ERNIE 4.5 and ERNIE X1, two powerful models designed to enhance multimodal understanding and deep-thinking reasoning. In a move that underscores its commitment to accessibility, Baidu is also making ERNIE Bot free to the public ahead of schedule giving individual users access to its latest AI advancements at no cost.

ERNIE 4.5: Smarter, More Context-Aware Multimodal AI

ERNIE 4.5 is Baidu’s latest multimodal AI model, meaning it is built with the ability tounderstand and work with text, images, audio, and video all at once. With improvements in logical reasoning, memory, and coding, it offers a more refined and reliable AI experience.

Key advancements in ERNIE 4.5 include:

1. FlashMask Dynamic Attention Masking for better context management
2. Heterogeneous Multimodal Mixture-of-Experts for deeper understanding
3. Spatiotemporal Representation Compression to enhance efficiency
4. Self-Feedback Enhanced Post-Training for more accurate responses

Designed for versatility, ERNIE 4.5 has been benchmarked against GPT-4.5, offering competitive performance at just 1% of the cost.

ERNIE X1: A Reasoning Model Built for Depth

Alongside ERNIE 4.5, Baidu introduces its first deep-thinking reasoning model "ERNIE X1", and it’s packed with features. This model stands out for its ability to perform advanced tasks such as:

1. Context-aware search
2. AI-generated images
3. Logical reasoning and complex calculations
4. Detailed document analysis

By integrating progressive reinforcement learning and an end-to-end training approach, ERNIE X1 is designed to handle intricate problem-solving with greater accuracy.

ERNIE Bot Is Now Free to the Public

Baidu initially planned to make ERNIE Bot free on April 1, 2025, but it’s now available immediately. Individual users can access both ERNIE 4.5 and ERNIE X1 for free via ERNIE Bot’s official website. https://yiyan.baidu.com/

For enterprise users and developers, API access is available through Baidu AI Cloud’s Qianfan Platform, with pricing as follows:

ERNIE 4.5: RMB 0.004 per thousand tokens (input), RMB 0.016 per thousand tokens (output)

ERNIE X1 (coming soon): RMB 0.002 per thousand tokens (input), RMB 0.008 per thousand tokens (output)