Baidu Just Beat GPT-4.5?

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Hey there, fellow human! 👋🏼👽

Today, we have great insights, prompts, AI events, and many more.

Introducing our brand new Job Board! 🥳

You’ll also discover how Baidu's new AI models are shaking up the industry—faster, smarter, and 99% cheaper than GPT-4.5. Is this the future of AI for marketers?

Lots to cover, so let’s dive in…🤿

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Baidu vs. OpenAI: The AI Shake-Up No One Saw Coming

For years, OpenAI has led the AI race. But Baidu just changed the game.

Their new AI models, ERNIE 4.5 and ERNIE X1, are taking on GPT-4.5 and DeepSeek-R1. The twist? ERNIE 4.5 claims to outperform GPT-4.5 while costing just 1% of OpenAI’s pricing.

That’s not a typo. If Baidu delivers on its promise, we could be looking at one of the biggest AI shifts in recent years.

For marketers, content creators, and social media pros, this isn’t just tech news—it’s a potential game-changer. Here’s what you need to know and, more importantly, how to use it.

ERNIE 4.5: Smarter, Cheaper, and Multimodal

Unlike standard AI chatbots, ERNIE 4.5 is a multimodal model. It doesn’t just process text. It can analyze images, audio, video, and even code—all in one system.

This alone puts it ahead of most AI models available today, including GPT-4.5, which is still largely text-based. But the real kicker? ERNIE 4.5 is designed with better emotional intelligence.

That means it can understand sarcasm, humor, and context in a way previous AI models struggled with. For marketers and social media strategists, this unlocks some powerful use cases:

How ERNIE 4.5 Can Help You

✅ Create AI-generated content that sounds more human
If you've ever had ChatGPT write something that feels robotic, ERNIE 4.5 might be a better alternative. It’s trained to catch nuances in humor, slang, and cultural references, making it ideal for social media posts, blog content, and ad copy.

✅ Analyze audience sentiment more accurately
Because it recognizes sarcasm and emotion, it can provide more accurate sentiment analysis for customer reviews, social media comments, and brand mentions.

✅ Automate customer interactions without sounding scripted
AI chatbots can feel stiff and unnatural. ERNIE 4.5's ability to detect humor and tone could make AI-driven customer service far more engaging and effective.

Baidu is also making this model 99% cheaper than OpenAI’s, which means businesses can scale AI-powered content without draining their budget.

If you’re spending a fortune on AI-assisted content creation, this could be worth keeping an eye on.

ERNIE X1: A Different Kind of AI

While ERNIE 4.5 is designed for content generation and multimodal tasks, Baidu’s second model, ERNIE X1, is built for deep reasoning and strategic thinking.

Think of it as an AI-powered analyst rather than a content creator. It breaks down complex problems step by step, making it a strong competitor to DeepSeek-R1 but at half the cost.

How ERNIE X1 Can Help You

✅ Improve ad campaign strategy in real-time
Instead of relying on static AI insights, ERNIE X1 can analyze live campaign data and suggest adjustments based on trends, engagement, and audience behavior.

✅ Optimize SEO with better keyword clustering
Rather than dumping a list of keywords, ERNIE X1 helps map out content strategies, grouping keywords into topic clusters that make sense for search engines and human readers alike.

✅ Forecast trends before they go mainstream
Using real-time data, it can identify early signs of viral trends, market shifts, and audience interests, giving you a head start in content planning.

What This Means for AI in Marketing

With Baidu offering high-performance AI at a fraction of the cost, here’s what we can expect in the coming months:

1️⃣ Lower AI costs across the board
If Baidu sticks to its aggressive pricing, OpenAI and other competitors may be forced to lower prices.

2️⃣ More advanced AI-driven automation
Multimodal AI means AI-generated videos, interactive content, and auto-edited podcasts could become mainstream marketing tools.

3️⃣ China’s AI industry is a serious contender
Baidu has made it clear that it intends to compete globally, and this could accelerate AI adoption across industries.

Should You Pay Attention to Baidu?

If Baidu delivers on its claims, this isn’t just another AI release. It’s a potential shift in how AI is used and priced.

For now, ERNIE 4.5 and X1 are available via Baidu’s AI cloud platform. They plan to open-source some models by June, which means we could see broader accessibility soon.

For content creators, marketers, and businesses relying on AI, this could be a wake-up call to diversify AI tools and keep an eye on the next wave of innovation.

Final Thought: Would You Switch?

If Baidu’s models perform just as well as OpenAI’s but cost 99% less, would you make the switch?

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It is a WRAP! 💥

Thanks for reading this week's issue. As always, feel free to reply to this newsletter with any comments, requests, or questions.

Until next week,
-Itay