China's AI startups race for customers as titans like Alibaba cut prices

SHANGHAI -- Chinese artificial intelligence startups that have raised hundreds of millions of dollars in funding are facing a reckoning: find customers fast, or get crushed or swallowed up by tech giants.

At a recent exhibition in Shanghai, Baichuan AI, one of China's top AI startups, was demonstrating its health care consultant -- a chatbot that hospitals can use to assist potential patients. If a user sends a message about eye pain, the chatbot responds with questions on things like the degree of inflammation and whether the person touched any harmful chemicals. At the end, it gives advice on what to do, such as calling an ambulance or the types of tests the person should get at a hospital.