Chinese search engine giant Baidu said on Tuesday it was developing an AI-powered chatbot, as tech giants make effort to keep up with the success of ChatGPT, an artificial-intelligence-powered chatbot that responds to user prompts.

ChatGPT, created by OpenAI, has become very popular for its ability to write within seconds essays, poems, or programming code on demand, which spread fears of cheating.

Read: Top French university bans students from using ChatGPT

Last month, Microsoft said it was investing billions in the firm, and Google this week said it was working on a rival called Bard.    

While a number of smaller Chinese companies have started developing a rival to the app, Baidu is the biggest to accept the challenge by far, though the company did not provide details about the launch date for the service, set to be called "Ernie Bot".  

They are "likely to complete internal testing in March before making the chatbot available to the public," a company spokesperson told AFP.

Baidu's shares soared more than 15% on the announcement.  

In recent years, the Chinese tech giant has diversified into cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and autonomous driving technologies as advertising revenue has remained inactive in the face of tighter regulatory scrutiny.  

It is expected that Baidu will integrate Ernie Bot into its main search service, allowing users to receive a conversation-style reply to their search results instead of receiving a list of links, similar to the experience of using ChatGPT.  

With no barriers to creating AI-synthesised text, a global alarm has been sparked over audio and video, the potential for misuse in identity theft, financial fraud and tarnish reputations.

The Eurasia group consultancy has called the AI tools "weapons of mass disruption".  

Beijing has warned that DeepFakes, which use technology like chatbots to create chillingly-accurate digital doppelgangers, pose a "danger to national security and social stability".