4 September 2026 News

Government and Public Sector : Governments in multiple regions are promoting digital humans to participate in government services and social governance scenarios. A Xinjiang CPPCC Standing Committee member proposed constructing a “city comprehensive intelligent entity” to enhance modern governance capabilities during a conference speech, and suggested applying digital human technologies in cultural enrichment work in Xinjiang to build a “cloud museum” and make Chinese cultural symbols “come alive”; Shenyang Heping District showcased the digital human “Hezhi Xuan” at an AI supply-demand docking conference, working alongside the “Smart Heping” intelligent entity to provide interactive experiences for attending guests; Yongzhou, Hunan Wu Xi Moya Shike Shuzi Bowuguan (浯溪摩崖石刻数字博物馆) launched the AI digital human “Yuanjie”, allowing tourists to have real-time conversations with it and experience interactive projects such as stone rubbing and calligraphy imitation; at the Shaanxi Internet Civilization Conference, four AI digital humans—Cangjie, Sun Simiao, Zhang Qian, and Sima Qian—engaged in cross-temporal dialogue, with the event concluding again with messages from digital humans; Guizhou Yidong (贵州移动) collaborated with Zhongguoyidong Hangzhou Yanfa Zhongxin (中国移动杭州研发中心) to create “Lingxi Jiating Zhineng Ti (灵犀家庭智能体)”, with digital human imagery incorporating Miao ethnic costume elements, and launched the “Lingxi Zhuchiren (灵犀主持人)” AI application at the Guizhou AI Super Television 2.0 release conference, achieving real-time coordination between live hosts and digital humans; Wuhan issued “Wuhan Qingnian Daxue Xinsheng Zhinengka (武汉青年大学新生智能卡)” to the class of 2026 incoming university students, with the card serving as a personal exclusive city intelligent entity built on artificial intelligence technology, featuring a finless porpoise as the virtual image and incorporating city symbols such as the Yellow Crane Tower and plum blossoms, providing services including campus guidance, multilingual support, course selection assistance, and policy-matched administrative handling.

Education : The application of digital humans in education has expanded from higher education to grassroots and vocational training. Wuhandaxue (武汉大学) In the new semester, “Ruiyunshu Zhi Jiaoyu Pingtai (睿云数智教育平台)” will be fully implemented, allowing teachers to use the platform to customize exclusive digital human avatars and voices, automatically parse PowerPoint presentations and generate voice-over scripts for guided learning, intensive instruction, and post-class supplementary teaching; Zhengzhou Hangkonggang Keji Yijie Xiaoxue (郑州航空港科技一街小学) has introduced an interactive terminal called “Haoqi Chuang (好奇窗)”, equipped with AI virtual avatars of more than ten prominent scientists and cultural figures from around the world including Einstein, Li Bai, Turing, Zhang Heng, Lu Ban, and Leonardo da Vinci, for students to interact with through questions. At the same time, “AI-enabled lessons” in frontline basic education are evolving into a new form of bureaucratic burden: according to reports, some regions have made “whether AI is used” a mandatory standard in teaching competition judging, forcing teachers to insert digital human dialogue segments into classrooms—such as calling Li Bai in Chinese classes or chatting with Qin Shi Huang in history classes—and even when unrelated to course content, teachers are required to include them, thereby spawning an industry specialized in customizing AI courseware for teachers. A company in Shandong has customized AI-enabled courseware for two to three thousand teachers over three years, with each set of courseware containing digital human interactions, 3D scenes and other content, priced between 800 yuan and 10,000 yuan, and some teachers have won awards using digital human PowerPoint presentations customized for five thousand yuan and been transferred to better schools as a result.

Retail and Marketing : Digital human applications in the marketing sector continue to expand, encompassing both corporate brand ambassadors and batch-produced short-video customer acquisition tools. Ding Xubo, a vendor at a vegetable market in Xinjiang Jinhua, used AIGC technology to create a digital human “avatar” to film short videos of traditional snacks and drive sales; after the series of videos gained traction, he opened online sales channels. Guangdong Qihui Luggage applied digital humans in cross-border export business to provide uninterrupted 24-hour product introductions and save on labor costs. Shengguang Jituan (省广集团) helped Lingpao Qiche (零跑汽车) collaborate with Baidu, integrating the IP of Leapmotor senior vice president and chief operating officer Xu Jun with AI technology to create an industry-first “executive digital human” for 24-hour non-stop livestreaming, embedding product selling points through three scenarios—business, leisure, and store tours. Yiwu Jinhua Yike Xinxijishu (金华缢客信息技术有限公司) launched an Yiwu marketing digital human service providing a complete closed-loop offering, delivering one-stop services to enterprises including Douyin account planning, on-site real footage shooting, digital human video production, and information flow advertising placement, helping companies reduce labor costs for short-video operations teams. Xingtai Wang (邢台网) published an article comparing OEM white-label services across multiple domestic digital human video platforms, including Shenzhen Cheng Nuokexun Da (晟诺科讯达), Nanjing Silicon Intelligence Technology Group Co., Ltd., Tengxun Zhiying (腾讯智影), Baidu Zhineng Yunxiling (百度智能云曦灵), and Wanxingbo Bao (万兴播爆), each providing differentiated services for livestream operations outsourcing, e-commerce livestreaming, content agencies, large enterprises, and cross-border e-commerce teams respectively.

Livestreaming and Short Video : Digital human livestreaming has become a standard operational method in China’s e-commerce and content industries. The industry is conducting selection discussions around two technical approaches: preset-driven and real-time-driven. Preset-driven refers to pre-recorded scripts and processes that loop for broadcast, with low costs but weak interactivity, suitable for display-type content; real-time-driven refers to digital humans responding to bullet-screen interactions in real time through AI script engines, with strong interactivity but higher technical barriers and costs, suitable for high-interaction conversion scenarios in livestream selling. Kuai Shoudian Shang Jingpin Xiaofei Yewu Zhongxin (快手电商精品消费业务中心) launched the “Star Shine New Autumn” campaign, in which merchant operational strategies mentioned leveraging “Nvwa Shuzi Ren (女娲数字人)” to expand incremental volume, acquiring incremental customers through short-form sellers in the livestream domain and helping operational merchants replicate matrix accounts for broadcasting. Additionally, a controversial phenomenon that has emerged is the gray industry of virtual artist advertising: a large number of virtual celebrity accounts have proliferated on social platforms, operating in personified Vlog format. MCN institutions claim that based solely on product images, virtual artists can “personally experience” products such as beauty devices and generate promotional videos. Some institutions also evade platform review through “underwater transactions” to place soft-insertion advertisements for sensitive commodities like prescription drugs “Aishi Dakou Rongmo (艾时达口溶膜)”; virtual mixed-race models “Mengke.Cora,” “Versatile NORA” and other virtual artists have formed mature pricing systems, with single-video insertion advertisements quoted at tens of thousands of yuan. Following investigations by Southern Metropolis Daily reporters, market regulatory authorities have intervened in investigations of the company behind the colored contact lens brand “Jianguo Li (坚果力),” and relevant violating videos have been taken down or account content cleared following the report.

Entertainment and Virtual Idols : Virtual idols and AI artists are becoming a new force in the entertainment industry. Xiaoxu Yinyue (小旭音乐) has created over a dozen AI singers including Xu Bai, Huayao Luantan Band, Yexian Riff, and YIN Silver, each with complete character profiles and musical style positioning, with the team’s success rate around 25%-30%. The company’s AI singers have settled into Taobao FM channels for trial livestream commerce and participated in the First AI Singer Competition prepared by CCTV; Maiju, as the world’s first AI casting director, has proposed the “bone-skin-form-spirit” physiognomy analysis method to customize AI artist images for brand clients, with business coverage extending to Geli (格力), Huaxi Shengwu (华熙生物) and other brands; Yi Kaichuang Xiang (异开创想)’s AI singer Yingzi has released over one hundred singles, with fan following exceeding 400,000 across all networks, and plans to publish an “interactive novel autobiography of virtual idols”; the AI short drama “The Girl Who Got Laid Off” featuring female lead “Fang Taozi” accumulated nearly 500,000 fans within a month of debut, with a 60-second advertisement quote reaching 288,000 yuan, but later drew regulatory intervention after endorsing a contact lens advertisement alleged to violate regulations. The operator Wo De Yingshiwenhua Chuanmei (我的影视文化传媒有限公司)’s spokesperson CQ CHAN responded by stating that the relevant advertisement has been taken down and commercial collaborations have been temporarily suspended, while disclosing that “Fang Taozi”’s cooperation with Fashion COSMO e-magazine was at zero compensation. The team also plans to launch the “Taoyuan Sisters” series of virtual characters; Beijing Jingji Kaifaqu (北京经济开发区) has introduced innovative measures, with virtual idol singer Yuri Hanqing Studio obtaining the nation’s first virtual idol identity card. Additionally, an independent creator from Shenzhen on the mainland, “No Pickled Vegetables,” saw explosive fan growth from one thousand to over 500,000 followers through the AI supernatural short drama “Feiyaozai,” which received technological support from models including Keling 3.0 and Wan 2.6 provided by LibTV platform, with per-episode costs exceeding 10,000 yuan, and the first image establishing the aesthetic style consuming 6,000 yuan in computational costs.

Film and Television : AI-generated content is accelerating its entry into long-form television drama. China’s first AIGC long-form drama “Post-Journey to the West” landed on Hunanweishi (湖南卫视)’s prime time slot on August 31st and simultaneously went online on Mangguo TV (芒果TV), featuring no real actors throughout, produced by Mangguo TV AIGC Chuangxin Neirong Zhongxin (芒果TV AIGC创新内容中心), leveraging self-developed “Mangguo Lingchuang (芒果灵创)” platform to solve industrial-level challenges such as character consistency and visual scene unity, adopting Seedance2.0 and Seedance2.5 to provide AI technology support. It is the first drama series to adopt “concurrent review and broadcast” following the release of the “Broadcasting 21 Provisions,” achieving top viewership among provincial satellite TV stations in its time slot on premiere, driving Mango Excellent Media’s stock price to consecutive daily limits, with market capitalization increasing by approximately 1.16 billion yuan over two days. The series accumulated 109 character assets and 143 scene assets for subsequent reuse across 25 episodes and a second season. Actress Qi Wei unveiled her personal official AI digital twin “Han Qingxia” in August, starring in the post-apocalyptic AI animated drama “Summer of Apocalypse,” adapted from Tomato Novel IP, with technology support provided by Jimeng Shendu Jishu (集梦深度技术) (Ji Meng AI (即梦AI)/Seedance). Qi Wei adopted a “limited authorization, non-exclusive purchase” model, with authorization scope covering name, likeness, voice, physical features and performance style, limited solely to this single project and requiring her personal review. She proposed that real person and digital twin should be two collaborative creative lines, and plans to transition into an AI producer. The digital twin sparked “boundary-crossing” controversy due to low-angle upskirt camera angles in promotional footage; Qi Wei responded that she would optimize prompts and candidly acknowledged “completely disregarding compensation is a lie.” Previously, Carina Lau licensed her image to NetEase, Inc.’s game “The Realm” to produce AIGC advertisement “Phantom Shadow,” restoring her classic screen image from ages 20 to 30 playing roles such as Nie Xiaoqian and Bai Suzhen. Sixty-two-year-old Hong Kong actor Ngo Kei-wah, fifty-seven-year-old Michael Mak Cheung-ching, and fifty-eight-year-old Wong Chi-yin have also licensed their youthful likenesses for AI film production. Ninety-three-year-old You Benzhang authorized digital human technology to restore a younger version of Jigong to star in short drama “Jigong the Fake Dragon-taming Monk,” and opened digital likenesses to photograph AI advertisements for elderly care brands titled “At 93, I Own My First Robot.” Hujing Wenyu Jituan (虎鲸文娱集团) Chairman and CEO Fan Luyuan and Youku President Wu Qian publicly stated their commitment to cultivating and employing real actors, declining to substitute performers with AI, while simultaneously applying virtual shooting, AI lighting algorithms and other technologies to improve production efficiency for projects such as “Crimes Against Humanity.” Zhongyangxijuxueyuan (中央戏剧学院)’s original cross-media drama “Fissure of Love” debuted at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Britain, featuring an AI scientist in the drama who creates a digital twin system called “Nuwa Shadow” attempting to preserve the memories of the deceased through technology. The production features real actors performing alongside embodied robots, integrating real-time imagery, puppet theater and other technical means.

Short Drama Industry : AI short dramas are experiencing explosive growth, with data from the China Internet Audio-video Association showing that approximately 128,000 micro short dramas were launched industrywide in the first quarter of 2026, with AI micro short dramas accounting for over 95% of the total. In the second quarter, among 239,000 micro short dramas launched, AI micro short dramas numbered 153,000. The AI short drama “I Have a Sword, Can Slay Yama” produced by Guangxi Shanhai Xingchen Wenhuachuanmei (广西山海星辰文化传媒有限公司) topped Douyin’s short drama hot list at number one with 68 episodes of vertical-screen ancient-style combat content, with per-episode production costs compressed to under 80,000 yuan, employing technologies such as AI-generated ancient-style landscapes and real-time digital human micro-expression driving. However, it experienced audience attrition in later stages due to hollow plot and templated character design. In the interactive film-game sector, Tianji Gongzuoshi (天玑工作室) under Chongqing Huanyu Xinghui (重庆寰宇星汇) has transitioned from AI short dramas to AI interactive film-games, launching “The Secret Archives of Qingwu: The Mystery of the Dragon’s Tomb,” with a core team of 20 people and a three-month production cycle, representing nine to twelve times the cost of AI short dramas of equivalent scale. The detailed outline underwent seven iterations to design systems of favorability and resource management that continuously influence plot progression, avoiding “pseudo-interactivity.” Nuan Tie Zhizuo (暖铁制作) is advancing two AIGC interactive film-games, “1999 Confidentiality Agreement” and “Asura Field.” Founder Leng Gang estimates that AIGC has reduced the costs of traditional live-action interactive film-games from several million to nearly 30 million yuan to one-fifth or even lower. Huying Keji (互影科技) CEO Kunpeng revealed that AI video generation has already reduced the video production costs of certain interactive content to one-tenth of previous levels, and has already developed tools to distribute interactive content to WeChat and Douyin mini programs. FizzDragon Chairman Shuai Yong is advancing AI interactive content including “Dream of the Red Chamber” and plans to extend testing functionality to a mode where users can independently propose historical figures and events they wish to explore, with AI generating content in real time. Zhenjiang (镇江)’s “Azhen/Cubaobao” IP has launched an omnichannel promotion plan, opening digital human IP licensing to quality merchants for use in material production, and encouraging AIGC creators to use the IP image to create AI short dramas and short videos to participate in co-creation competitions. The “Micro Short Drama Development and Management Measures” taking effect from September 1st requires that micro short dramas generated and produced using artificial intelligence technology must display a reminder indicator at a prominent position in each episode. Hongguo Duanju (红果短剧) has released announcements to standardize AI drama character creation and address issues of high-frequency AI faces and homogenization, while Douyin has launched a pre-check tool for AI drama copyright holders to screen portrait rights and copyright risks.

Regulatory and Ethical Issues : Cyberspace Administration of China The second phase of the “Clarity: AI Application Disorder Remediation” special campaign disclosed multiple typical cases involving accounts on platforms including Weibo, Douyin, Kuaishou, and WeChat that abused AI technology to “drastically alter” classic literary works such as “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” and “Journey to the West,” fabricate low-quality plot lines, create AI digital humans for false advertising and misleading sales pitches to elderly users, and exploit AI face-swapping and voice-conversion to impersonate and profit from public figures, among other issues. The special campaign has cumulatively removed over 5.61 million pieces of illegal and non-compliant information and investigated over 49,000 accounts. Cyberspace Administration of China The “Digital Virtual Human Information Service Management Measures (Draft for Public Comment)” released in April this year requires service providers to continuously display conspicuous identifier labels containing the phrase “digital human” throughout the display area of digital virtual humans, and prohibits engaging in false advertising, malicious inducement to consume, and other illegal activities. Instagram AI account identifier rules have been adjusted, renaming the “AI Creator” tag to “AI-generated profile,” with potential recommendation traffic restrictions for accounts that fail to label AI-generated character images. Shanghaishi Zhishichanquanju (上海市知识产权局) A Luotian Yi Yinpin Shuju Ji (洛天依音频数据集) data intellectual property registration certificate was issued to bilibili, marking the nation’s first registration case for a completely virtual human audio data product. The registered object is a specific audio dataset formed through collection, cleaning, annotation, and organization processes, rather than the abstract “Luo Tianyi timbre.” This registration helps reduce evidentiary burdens in disputes, bilibili with plans to further apply for registration of “voice corpus unit libraries” at finer granularity levels.