What is Ernie 4.5?

Ernie 4.5 overview

Model name: Ernie 4.5
Model release date: March 16, 2025
Company name: Baidu Research
Baidu Ernie Bot AI

ERNIE 4.5 is Baidu’slatest generation native multimodal foundation model, representing a significant advancement in AI technology. Here are some key aspects of ERNIE 4.5:

Multimodal Capabilities

ERNIE 4.5 can process various forms of content, including text, images, audio, and video.

This multimodal approach enhances its ability to understand and generate content across different media types, making it versatile for a wide range of applications.

Enhanced Language Understanding

The model demonstrates improved language processing capabilities, including the ability to understand nuanced language such as humor and cultural references.

Baidu describes this as “high EQ,” which makes interactions with the model more natural and engaging.

Improved Reasoning and Coding Abilities

ERNIE 4.5 shows significant enhancements in logical reasoning and coding abilities. This addresses previous challenges in these areas and makes the model more robust for tasks that require analytical thinking.

Cost Efficiency

In internal evaluations, ERNIE 4.5 has shown performance on par with models like DeepSeek-R1, but at approximately half the deployment cost. This cost efficiency positions ERNIE 4.5 as a competitive option for enterprises seeking advanced AI capabilities without incurring substantial expenses.

Applications and Integration

ERNIE 4.5 can be applied in various fields such as:

  • Sentiment analysis
  • Question answering systems
  • Content creation
  • Market research,
  • Academic research,
  • Data analysis, and
  • Language translation.

Baidu plans to integrate ERNIE 4.5 across its product ecosystem, including Baidu Search and the Wenxiaoyan app, to enhance user experience.

Accessibility

The language model is now accessible via APIs on Baidu AI Cloud’s Qianfan platform, making it available for enterprise users and developers.

Also, Baidu’s conversational AI platform, ERNIE Bot, is now freely accessible to all users, ahead of schedule.

Future Development

The Chinese largest Search company is already working on its next-generation model, ERNIE 5, which is expected to launch later this year. This upcoming model is anticipated to push multimodal capabilities even further.

Overall, ERNIE 4.5 showcases Baidu’s commitment to advancing AI technology and making it more accessible and cost-effective for a broader audience.

FAQs about ERNIE 4.5

Q1. What is ERNIE 4.5?

A. ERNIE 4.5 is Baidu’s latest multimodal foundation model, capable of understanding and generating text, images, audio, and video content. It demonstrates comprehensive improvements in understanding, generation, reasoning, and memory compared to its predecessor, ERNIE 4.0.

Q2. How does ERNIE 4.5 compare to OpenAI’s GPT-4.5?

A. Baidu claims that ERNIE 4.5 outperforms GPT-4.5 in multiple benchmarks, particularly in reasoning, multimodal understanding, and hallucination prevention. Additionally, ERNIE 4.5 is priced at only 1% of GPT-4.5’s cost.

Q3. What are the key features of ERNIE 4.5?

A. ERNIE 4.5 features:

  • Enhanced multimodal understanding, capable of processing text, images, audio, and video.
  • Improved reasoning and coding abilities.
  • Significant enhancements in hallucination prevention.
  • High EQ, allowing it to understand nuanced language such as humor and cultural references.

Q4. How can I access ERNIE 4.5?

A. You can access ERNIE 4.5 through:

  1. ERNIE Bot (AI Chatbot) at yiyan.baidu.com (currently only available for Chinese users).
  2. Baidu AI Cloud’s MaaS platform, Qianfan, for API access.

Q5. What are the pricing details for ERNIE 4.5?

A. ERNIE 4.5 input prices start at $0.55 per 1M tokens, and output prices are set at $2.20 per 1M tokens.

Q6. What are some potential applications of ERNIE 4.5?

A. ERNIE 4.5 can be applied in various fields such as:

  • Sentiment analysis
  • Question answering systems
  • Content creation
  • Market research
  • Academic research
  • Data analysis
  • Language translation.

Q7. When will ERNIE 4.5 be open-sourced?

A. Baidu plans to open-source ERNIE 4.5 on June 30, making the source code and model weights available to developers.