TikTok's owner is working on a rival chatbot builder to OpenAI, a new report says

• ByteDance is launching a chatbot-building service to rival OpenAI, per the South China Morning Post.
• OpenAI launched customizable versions of ChatGPT known as "GPTs" last month.

ByteDance is joining the AI arms race as it reportedly prepares to launch a rival to OpenAI's "GPTs."

The TikTok owner is planning to build a platform that will let users create their own chatbots, similar to the customizable versions of ChatGPT that OpenAI unveiled at its recent developer day, per a report from the South China Morning Post.

ByteDance, which is working on an image-generating tool similar to Midjourney and Stable Diffusion, is reportedly planning to launch the "bot development platform" as a public beta by the end of the month.

A company-wide memo seen by the South China Morning Post said that the new platform would allow the company to "explore new generative AI products and how they can integrate with the existing ones."

It comes after OpenAI announced an update that allowed users to create customizable versions of ChatGPT that can be used for specialized tasks such as coding, tech support, and creative writing, known as "GPTs," in November.

The company plans to allow developers to sell these "GPTs" through a "GPT store," although this new platform was recently delayed till next year following the chaotic firing and rehiring of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

ByteDance already has its own chatbot, Doubao, which it launched in August after receiving approval from Chinese regulators, who have strict rules around the development of AI.

The company is facing competition not only from Silicon Valley but also from local rivals. Fellow Chinese tech giant Baidu launched its Ernie AI bot at the same time as Doubao and said in October that it was "not inferior in any respect" to OpenAI's GPT-4.

ByteDance's pivot towards AI comes as calls grow for the company's most successful product, TikTok, to be banned in the US over national security concerns.

The latest attempt to ban the video-sharing app hit a wall in the past week, however, with a Montana judge blocking the state's TikTok ban from taking effect on January 1.

ByteDance did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider made outside normal working hours.