25 September 2026 News

Entertainment : In film and television and cultural sectors, Shuzi Ren (数字人) technology is deeply intervening in the revival of classic intellectual properties and new content production. Performing artist You Benzhang announced at age 92 his participation in shooting the Jigong-themed micro short drama “Jigong: The Fake Dragon Tamer” and serving as artistic director, planning to use Shuzi Ren (数字人) technology to restore his youthful image as Jigong to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the 1985 version of “Jigong,” with his daughter You Sihan serving as project spokesperson to advance this digital heritage preservation plan; additionally, the “Grandfather Uncle” character he created in “Flowers” is also one of his representative late-career works. iQIYI launched China’s first authorized AI live-action long-form drama “Immortal Transcends Mandarin Ducks,” directed by director Wei Zheng, with actors Chen He and Shen Yujie authorizing their likenesses and voices to produce digital avatars for performances, with the entire series’ visuals generated by AI and actors only providing voiceovers, marking AI dramas’ expansion from short-form to mainstream long-form drama markets. The classic series “A Smile Is Alluring” has been renamed “A Smile Enchants the City” and relaunched online, with the production using AI face-swapping technology to replace the original female lead Beiwewei’s face with actress Wang Zhuyue, who publicly acknowledged authorizing the face swap and apologized, sparking widespread audience discussion about technological authenticity and emotional connections to characters. The red-themed AIGC short drama “Covert Crossing” is jointly produced by Anhui Chuang Yao Keji (安徽创垚科技) and Yangshiwang (央视网), utilizing the entire process with self-developed tool OneStory to create an ensemble of AI actors, recreating the intelligence warfare scenes of the 1949 Yangze River Crossing Campaign. Health-supplement alcohol brand Zhongguo Jinjiu (中国劲酒) jointly created with Wanyi Hudong (玩意互动) the first brand AI comic drama “Nine Spirits Legend,” upgrading its Shuzi Ren (数字人) IP characters Dongfang Jing, Fang Xiaojing, and Health-Preserving Duck from flat virtual images to personalized characters with complete character profiles and story arcs. Xing Yuzhizao (星娱智造) created for the 2026 Yuelu Conference a full-scale humanoid robot based on the official virtual Shuzi Ren (数字人) IP “Little Yuelu,” which previously existed long-term as a virtual Shuzi Ren (数字人) for the Internet Yuelu Summit, now possessing a physical form for the first time. The Jingxi Jugu (京西剧谷)·XR Laboratory at the Beijing Animation Week Mentougou branch venue showcased Yangshiwang (央视网) digital host Xiaoc, the Mentougou Rose Festival image Xiaomiaoyue, and the international communication IP panda Lele engaging in Shuzi Ren (数字人) on-site interactions. Chengdu’s Jiaozi Avenue previously launched a “metaverse street,” with virtual humans performing in coordination with the Tianfu Twin Towers and Jiaozi Ring lighting effects, allowing citizens to scan codes to see virtual figures overlaid on real architecture. Singer Wang Sulong mispronounced a virtual character’s name with a Northeast accent “slipping” during backstage interaction with the virtual image Miaowawa at a music gala, which netizens praised as an adorable memorable moment. Additionally, the CHOUCHOU & FRIENDS (CHOUCHOU&FRIENDS) immersive experience flagship store opened on Shanghai South JD.com Road allows fans to interact with their idols’ virtual avatars.

Marketing : Virtual IPs are becoming an important carrier for brand-user emotional connections. Shunfeng Tongcheng (顺丰同城) officially launched a new virtual IP spokesperson “Tong Xiaoxia,” continuing the first-line rider image design and pairing with the female image “Tong Xiaoxia,” assuming three roles as brand spokesperson, user companion, and embodiment of rider spirit. Tencent QQ launched a new anthropomorphic gameplay for friend interaction identifiers called “Qiuqiu,” a virtual image co-cultivated by two friends that grows and changes with their continued interaction, marking the first time QQ identifier system presents itself as an anthropomorphic image. Zhou Xingchi and a certain Guangzhou automaker released Shuzi Ren (数字人) collaborative short films, combining classic movie lines with real-life scenarios, sparking heated discussions on topics such as “Zhou Xingchi’s Shuzi Ren (数字人) new film has great staying power.” Jewelry brand Mankalong (曼卡龙) previously partnered with virtual person “Meimei” Yintai (银泰) during Qixi to promote the Finger Love needle series products and built a digital collectibles platform to explore metaverse marketing. Internet celebrity economy service provider Tianxia Xiu (天下秀)’s Hong Yuzhou (虹宇宙) APP has previously onboarded virtual IPs “Yu Taixin” and “Genius Little Panda” Shuzi Ren (数字人) for influencer-fan interaction, continuously expanding virtual-related business.

E-commerce and Livestreaming : Shuzi Ren (数字人) is accelerating its penetration into public traffic acquisition scenarios such as livestream e-commerce and recruitment. Baidu showcased the world’s first full-scenario Shuzi Ren (数字人) platform “Baidu Yijing (百度一镜)” at the China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) exhibition, leveraging the Wenxin large language model to build multilingual livestreaming capabilities that have covered e-commerce, education, and cultural tourism industries and expanded into global markets. Relying on Shantou, Guangdong’s “words and tokens going global” industrial policy, the cross-border e-commerce AI agent MoonClaw provides global sellers with one-stop services including livestreaming Shuzi Ren (数字人), intelligent customer service, and multilingual product copywriting generation, while local Chenghai district AI toy enterprises have also leveraged the local computing power ecosystem to export voice recognition and real-time dialogue capabilities. Wangshang Yinhang (网商银行) launched the AI Agent “Nong Xiaobao (农小宝)” targeting the “three rural” customer base, in which AI Shuzi Ren (数字人) guides farmers through operations step by step in scenarios such as farmland lease renewal contract signing, improving the contract signing process efficiency by 50%. Shanghai Jianliuu Information Technology launched “Jianliu AI Zhaopin (剪流AI招聘)”, equipped with a self-developed nationally-registered recruitment-focused vertical large language model, creating an “AI recruitment doppelgänger” for enterprises that automatically engages candidates across major recruitment platforms 24/7. In the livestream e-commerce sector, addressing challenges of anchor turnover and difficult late-night scheduling, the industry is exploring a division model where “human hosts lead peak hours and Shuzi Ren (数字人) handle off-peak hours” to extend coverage duration during the Double Eleven shopping festival. Meanwhile, regulatory departments have investigated the first case of AI virtual person livestream false advertising, and the Beijing Consumers Association has jointly committed with e-commerce platforms to require AI Shuzi Ren (数字人) hosts to display prominent “AI-generated” labels and strictly prohibit deepfake impersonation in product promotion.

Enterprise : The concepts of digital employees and digital avatars are expanding from government and finance sectors into security and creative tool domains. Anheng Xinxi (安恒信息) unveiled “X Anquan Shuzi Yuangong (X安全数字员工)” at the 2026 Global Global Digital Trade Expo West Lake Sword-Drawing Conference, with Chairman Fan Yuan releasing the product, which leverages AI technology to build self-evolving digital avatars that provide round-the-clock, full-chain intelligent detection and protection for government and enterprise clients. The 2026 Yunqi Conference pioneered the “Agent Native” attendance format, allowing each participant to bring their exclusive digital avatar “Qianzai (千仔)” into the venue, with this digital identity able to participate throughout the conference, access agendas, and receive intelligent content recommendations. The video editing tool “Yiqi Jian (一起剪)” offers AI Shuzi Ren (数字人) functionality, enabling intelligent lip-sync motion generation for video content creation while supporting batch production of enterprise-level content. ByteDance’s subsidiary Faceu Technology launched the all-in-one creation platform “Jianying Hub (剪映Hub)”, allowing users to generate “high-fidelity Shuzi Ren (数字人) avatars” through AI as part of AI Ultra membership benefits, with creation costs approximately 5,500 points. Beijing Stock Exchange-listed company “Shuzi Ren (数字人)” (835670) continues to win digital medical education procurement projects, with the latest one being the Xian Yixueyuan (西安医学院) procurement project valued at 2.08 million yuan. Shanghai Weilai Qidian Shequ (上海未来启点社区), functioning as a sci-tech incubation platform focused on future industries, has welcomed Yuanshi Keji (元示科技) founded by Ph.D. Wu Jiaqi and others from Peking University to settle in, with the company developing artificial intelligence virtual human technology and completing nearly 100 million yuan in financing.

Public Services and Healthcare : Shuzi Ren (数字人) is being widely applied in transportation, emergency science education, cultural tourism, and basic medical service scenarios. During the “We Talk” safety roundtable forum hosted by Nanhang (南航) in Shenyang, Nanhang (南航) virtual host “Xiaonan” made a brand-new debut, taking over the entire program flow with AI hosting and breaking the stereotypical and rigid impression of safety conferences. Professor Chongqing Jiaotong Daxue (重庆交通大学) Lin Xiaosong’s team conducted mountain flood disaster science education practice activities at Nanping Experimental Primary School, introducing AI Shuzi Ren (数字人) lecturers to explain correct disaster avoidance practices during scenario-based question-answering sessions, with pre- and post-activity assessments showing students’ knowledge accuracy improved by an average of over 40 percentage points. The 23rd China–ASEAN Expo tourism exhibition area incorporated AI Shuzi Ren (数字人) hosting, real-time multilingual translation and other technologies, promoting the digital transformation of traditional cultural tourism resources. The Shaoyifu Yiyuan (邵逸夫医院) affiliated to Zhejiang University School of Medicine jointly established a medical AI token factory with China Unicom, which was officially unveiled and aims to enable grassroots doctors to have an expert’s “digital avatar” at their fingertips in clinical practice; Dean Cai Xiujun pointed out that the factory should bridge the “last mile” from data collection to clinical application. The “Yijiyou Lushan (一机游庐山)” mini program at Lushan scenic area in Jiangxi province integrated the DeepSeek large model, providing one-stop services including intelligent tour guidance and ticket booking through the AI digital virtual human “Luyouyou”. Shanghai Fu Tu (赴图) Information Technology launched the “Fu Tu (赴图)” WeChat mini program targeting destination cultural tourism scenarios, where Shuzi Ren (数字人) can provide explanations combining scenic area knowledge with location information and respond to questions after visitors enter relevant cultural landmark scenes. In the elderly care sector, Quancheng Jiujiuxin Yi Yanghu Yuan (全程玖玖馨逸养护院) in Huangpu District designed a digitalized realistic personal image for 89-year-old Lu Auntie who missed her family, enabling her to see her son’s Shuzi Ren (数字人) image and interact in conversation when calling him, significantly alleviating the elderly woman’s anxiety; Lelinghui Yanglaoyuan (乐龄汇养老院) in Xuhui District introduced “Fuzai,” an emotion-accompanying electronic pet donated by Shanghai Luobo Intelligent Technology, equipped with built-in AI interactive functions for elderly people to touch and voice-interact with. The fifth Global Global Digital Trade Expo Chongqing pavilion showcased the latest achievements of the city in leveraging AIGC, Shuzi Ren (数字人), virtual reality and other technologies to transform Bayu cultural resources into tradeable, replicable, and exportable digital products.

Financial Markets : On the A-share market, multiple listed companies have become the focus of capital attention due to their business layout related to virtual Shuzi Ren (数字人). Guao Keji (古鳌科技) owns the “Guao Finance-Finance Shuzi Ren (数字人)” product under its umbrella; Ningshui Jituan (宁水集团) began building enterprise AI virtual humans from early 2025, comprehensively laying out digital culture metaverse; Xinhuanet established the “Xinhua Shuzi Ren (数字人) Lab” in its early years, dedicated to Shuzi Ren (数字人) research, production and operation on an “all-dimensional, full-process, full-chain” basis; Aima Keji (爱玛科技) jointly with Volcano Engine and Baidu Smart Cloud built the AIGC unified portal “Maxiaoai (玛小爱)”, integrating Shuzi Ren (数字人) livestreaming sales capabilities and upgraded to “Maxiaoai (玛小爱) AI Agent”; Jinpai Jiaju (金牌家居) was the first in the industry to build “Jin Chan Zi” Shuzi Ren (数字人), attracting the attention of young consumers; Hong Kong-listed company Digital Domain has long been engaged in visual effects, virtual human and virtual reality services, with its stock price recently rising more than 5% at one point; in addition Tangmu Mao (汤姆猫) has been listed by securities analysts as a core target for “AI + virtual image and virtual scene” for continuous attention.