Hong Kong, Feb 22 (IANS): China has slammed ChatGPT, the AI-driven chatbot by Microsoft-owned OpenAI that has become a rage, saying it is spreading US government "misinformation" and directing Internet companies not to use it in their applications, the media reported on Wednesday.

Chinese regulators told Tencent and Ant Group, the fintech affiliate of Alibaba Group, not to offer ChatGPT services to the public, reports Nikkei Asia.

There is a "growing alarm in Beijing over the AI-powered chatbot's uncensored replies to user queries".

Tencent and Ant Group have been instructed not to utilise ChatGPY "either directly or via third parties", said the report, citing sources.

Beijing's clampdown on ChatGPT came as little surprise to many in China's tech industry, the report said.

As the world goes gaga over ChatGPT, experts believe that developing its Chinese competitor will surely face censorship, cost and data challenges, as in the case of big Internet companies like Alibaba and Tencent.

According to the South China Morning Post, a recent white paper published by the municipal technology bureau of Beijing offered support to local companies in developing ChatGPT rivals.

"But this will be easier said than done, owing to differences in the structure of the English and Chinese languages, cost pressures, availability of data sets, and last but not least -- the thorny issue of censorship in China," the report noted.

China's ruling Communist Party has always controlled the flow of political and social discussion within the country.

The restrictions limit the data sets which scientists use to train AI chat models.