1 October 2026 News

Offline Deployment & Enterprise Services : In offline scenarios, AI digital humans are transitioning from concept to standardized products. Yuanyue Keji (元岳科技)’s AI digital human all-in-one machine adopts an integrated portable design, integrating virtual image generation, intelligent voice interaction, and knowledge base question-answering capabilities to provide near-24/7 presentation and consultation services across diverse scenarios including government and enterprise showrooms, government service halls, cultural and tourism exhibition halls, transportation hubs, medical guidance, and commercial spaces. With its low-threshold deployment and customizable appearance, it has become a mainstream choice for offline digital transformation. Meanwhile, in Macau’s AIE Dianzizhan (AIE电子展) four major experience zones—AI smart living spaces, AI future mobility, AI smart wearables and virtual reality, and AI smart healthcare—human-computer interaction AI digital humans and smart wearable products from Kelite Yunke (克里特云科) and other enterprises jointly demonstrated how digital human services can be embedded in real-life scenarios of home, transportation, and health management.

Government & Public Services : Digital humans are being widely introduced into government affairs, consumer protection, and science popularization systems. A licensed consumer finance institution Mashang Xiaofei (马上消费) independently developed a consumer protection digital human named “Ma Xiaoxiao,” which popularizes financial knowledge to the public through intelligent Q&A, having appeared at Guanyin Bridge in Chongqing to interact with residents and deployed anti-fraud public welfare advertisements through smart delivery cabinets to reach ride-hailing drivers, truck drivers, and other groups. In the field of ideological and political education, Hangzhou Binjiangqu (滨江区) created a red ideological and political AI digital human called “Binbing,” exploring new modes of digitalized red ideological and political lectures; Kunming Information Port’s law popularization column also uses digital humans to explain legal content. The national science popularization month special program “2026 ‘Zan·Science Popularization China’” presents the achievements of science popularization work through digital human communication and interaction sections.

Entertainment & Film : In the film and television industry, digital avatars of deceased or retired actors are becoming a new form of performance. Deceased performing artist You Benzang authorized his likeness and voice during his lifetime, and with digital human technology, he recreated the image of the young Jigong for micro-dramas, going online on January 1, 2026 with the digital Jigong image to send New Year’s blessings to audiences, becoming a farewell image left for viewers. Retired actress Maggie Cheung authorized her likeness from her peak years in her 20s and 30s to NetEase, Inc.《Tian Xia》IP, producing the short film《Ethereal Shadow》through full AIGC technology to recreate classic characters such as Nie Xiaoqian, emphasizing “we are using AI, not being used by AI,” and strictly limiting authorization to a single project and single role. Actress Qi Wei proactively opened normalized AI authorization of her image, creating a digital avatar “Han Qingxia” starring in the post-apocalyptic AI manhua 《Summer of the End》, and presented the work at Weinisi Dianyingjie (威尼斯电影节), frankly stating that the current AI performance level “performs better than me,” but emphasizing that the digital avatar is merely an extension of the “Qi Wei” brand, insisting on limited authorization and absolutely no buyout. Additionally, iQIYI launched the country’s first actor-authorized AI long-form drama 《I Only Envy Immortals, Not Lovers》, with digital avatars generated from the authorized likenesses and voices of lead actors Shen Yuejie, Chen He and others, and the iQIYI AI artist database already has over a hundred artists signing consent agreements for entry. The country’s first AI photorealistic theatrical film 《Sanxingdui: Tales from the Future》 produced by Bona Yingye (博纳影业) is scheduled for October 23, with all characters in the film being original digital images, with creative direction led by the Bona AIGMS (博纳AIGMS) team, marking the first time AI obtained Guojia Dianyingju (国家电影局) distribution permits as a “creative team.” The 33rd Jinyingjiang (金鹰奖) made large-scale use of AI technology for the first time to produce nomination VCRs, attempting to use AI to replicate actor voices to achieve cross-screen “remote dialogue” between characters, though it also sparked controversy due to the abrupt appearance of AI-generated digital avatars of actors.

Short Drama & Content Creation : In the short-drama and short-video sectors, virtual digital humans are becoming core assets for content production and persona management. Taiwanese host Ada has launched an AI counterpart “AI Ada” for the first time, available 24 hours online to chat with fans and share private food recommendations, and he envisions future scenarios where Vtubers mix into AI group chats to create “dimensional contrasts.” Self-media creator Lao Yu, through Niu Ren Zhineng (牛人智能) company, licensed his mother’s real image to generate the digital human IP “Stand-up Comedy Grandma,” using fixed prompt templates to batch-produce stand-up comedy-style short videos, accumulating over 500 million views as a solo creator. Photographer Feng Yu refined the AI short film “Don’t Move” with 18 years of commercial photography expertise, creating the emotionally nuanced and nearly indistinguishable pure AI virtual actress “Jia Yizhen,” which won Bolin Duli Dianyingjie (柏林独立电影节)’s Best AI-Generated Short Film Award. Within the Hongguo Duanju (红果短剧) ecosystem, AI comic-drama virtual characters including Jiang Yuechu from “The Ten Thousand Demons Illustrated Record,” Lu Chuan from “We’ve All Been Reborn, Who’s Still Pretending to Be a Rich Second Generation,” Qi You from “Shocking! Me and My Rival Have a Child,” Gu Linchuan from “On Our Wedding Day, He Came to Marry Me by Helicopter,” and Su Han from “Everyone Survives, My Skills Are Ridiculously Many” have stepped out of their storylines, settled in Red Fruit Community to update statuses and open personal homepages, entered e-commerce livestream rooms to interact with audiences in real time, recommended products based on their personas, and completed content co-creation and conversion loops with LAMER Hailan Zhimi (LAMER海蓝之谜) and other brands.

Marketing & Livestreaming : Digital humans are also being extensively applied in marketing scenarios such as automotive reviews and livestream shopping, but this has spawned significant compliance risks. You Jia (有驾) On the platform, accounts such as “Li Yuer Chats About Cars_AI Avatar,” “Electric Vehicle Intelligence_AI Avatar,” “Fat Guy Car Expert Nuannuan_AI Avatar,” and “Xiaoxiong Talks About Cars_AI Avatar” all publish automotive reviews and vehicle knowledge content under AI digital human identities. In livestreams, AI host “Purple Cherry” achieved over 10,000 yuan in sales revenue within a 5-hour Mid-Autumn Festival debut, and operates with continuous monetization through a mechanism of “mandatory restart if targets are not met within 2 hours.” Simultaneously, media outlets including CCTV have exposed the chaos of AI digital humans making “personally tested and effective” claims: in the AI short drama “The Girl Who Was Laid Off,” virtual protagonist “Fang Taozi” released promotional videos for colored contact lenses, claiming in the first person that “wearing them all day felt very comfortable,” which triggered widespread skepticism and investigation by Chuzhou market regulation authorities in Anhui Province, with the relevant videos ultimately taken down; more AI digital humans appearing as “medical workers” and “field experts” have been used to promote drugs and health supplements for eye diseases and white hair care, allegedly violating advertising law provisions on endorsements for medical devices. Experts point out that even with “AI-generated” labels, responsibility cannot be exempted, and full-chain accountability must be implemented for advertisers, publishing platforms, and digital human creators.

Gaming Companionship : In the gaming companion space, Tencent is secretly beta-testing an AI digital human gaming companion product “Eci Yuan (鹅次元)”, which features multiple virtual characters with distinct personas including Guyu, Shen Lubai, and Xiaoxia, offering voice dialogue, real-time screen recognition and exclusive gaming companion modes, while having established a pay-per-use framework exchanging star coins for energy, positioning itself as “emphasis on companionship, light on boosting”, attempting to replace the traditional live-play companion track with a standardized digital human solution.

Cultural Tourism : In cultural tourism scenarios, digital humans are becoming new carriers for interpretation and experience. During the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, the AI digital human “Poetry Immortal” at Jinsha Lake in Hangzhou recited poetry under the moonlight while holding a wine cup, performing alongside traditional cultural elements such as guqin and lacquer fans; after Guishan Dianshita (龟山电视塔) reopened with renovations during the “Golden Week,” its first floor introduced an immersive digital drama experience “Only the Yangtze River in Sight,” presenting the cultural heritage of the Yangtze River through bare-eye 3D, holographic projection and digital avatar technology; at the Shenzhen Yantian (深圳盐田) Golden Coast Tourism Carnival launch ceremony, three Yantian cultural tourism IP characters made joint appearances in digital human form, linking the “Mountains and Seas Have Promises” series of activities; Meizhou Mazu Zumiao (湄洲妈祖祖庙) will release a digital Mazu avatar on New Year’s Day 2026, enabling users to request the “Meizhou Mazu digital avatar” online and receive an electronic avatar certificate through the “Lingying LY (灵应LY)” mini program. Zhejiang Province, leveraging the Guojia Rengongzhineng Yingyong Zhongshi Jidi ( Wenhua Lvyou ) (国家人工智能应用中试基地(文化旅游)) park, is promoting digital human tour guides and AR intelligent navigation systems and other cultural tourism digitalization applications in places including Shaoxing Keyan Fengjingqu (绍兴柯岩风景区); immersive performance projects such as “Ascending Yueyang Tower,” “Dongting Illusion,” and “Bamboo Sea Illusion” created by director Li Yan’s team in Hunan also comprehensively employ holographic projection and digital human imagery to activate local cultural tourism IP.

International Expansion : China’s digital human technology and industry are also accelerating their external export and cross-regional expansion. Zhongguo " Chunleijihua " (中国"春蕾计划") launched the “China-Cambodia Girls and Women Education Cooperation Project” in Cambodia, jointly implemented by Zhonghuaquanguofunvlianhehui (中华全国妇女联合会), Zhongguoertongshaonianjijinhui (中国儿童少年基金会) and Zhongguo Jianzhu Disan Gongchengju (中国建筑第三工程局), with the digital human “Teacher Leilei” delivering digital skills courses in Khmer language with Chinese and English subtitles, helping over a hundred Cambodian students master video production and content creation capabilities. Shanghai Lingang Xin Pianqu (上海临港新片区)’s 2026 Rengongzhineng Weilai Sheji Sai OPC (2026人工智能未来设计赛OPC) innovation and entrepreneurship track encourages participants to develop AI+software products such as industrial culture digital humans and immersive interactive systems, and opens up international expansion channels for projects. In 2026 Zhongguo Guoji Shuzi Jingji Bolanhui (2026中国国际数字经济博览会) Hebei Oumei Tongxuehui (河北欧美同学会) International Science and Technology Innovation Zone, enterprises including Yancheng Zhongyi AI (言承中医AI) embed digital human application scenarios into immersive scene displays in “scenario courtyards.” In Taiwan, the cross-platform AI agent suite product “AI AMAZE Retail Huixing Dashi - Xiaoshouyuan (AI AMAZE Retail慧星大使-銷售員)” launched by Aifei De Gou Yule (愛吠的狗娛樂) assists retail venues such as department stores and airports in completing product inquiries and customer service through interactive virtual persons combined with voice guidance, winning the 2026 Tai Wan AI Zhuoyue Jiang (臺灣AI卓越獎). Taibeishi Zhengfu Chanye Fazhanju (台北市政府產業發展局) led 12 enterprises to participate in Singapore Technology Week, where Yili Keji (以力科技), You Bida (优必达) and Ate Fa Keji (阿特发科技) showcased conversational commerce platforms, interactive virtual persons and XR training platforms, targeting digital transformation opportunities for Southeast Asian enterprises.

Ethical & Regulatory Contexts : Governance efforts surrounding AI digital humans and virtual personas are accelerating. Cyberspace Administration of China deployed a two-month “Clear Internet·Special Action on Rectifying Short-Video False Persona Chaos” campaign, explicitly listing “impersonation of individuals using AI and other means” as one of the key problems to address, including behaviors such as AI-synthesized audio and video impersonating public figures for false endorsements and impersonating parties involved in trending incidents to deceive attention. Shanghaishiwei Wangxin Ban (上海市委网信办) convened a specialized guidance meeting on minor protection online, requiring bilibili, Xiaohongshu (小红书), Pin Duoduo (拼多多) and 16 other key platforms to be vigilant against emerging risks of harm such as “AI face-swapping and emotional manipulation through virtual personas.” An investigation by New Weekly found cases among adolescents treated by institutions such as Beijing Anding Yiyuan (北京安定医院) who had taken leaves of absence or suffered psychological breakdown due to over-reliance on AI “chat companions.” Experts point out that while AI-personified companionship can provide emotional comfort, it may crowd out genuine interpersonal relationships and self-judgment abilities. The Interim Measures for Managing AI Anthropomorphic Interactive Services jointly released by five national departments came into effect on July 15, 2026, explicitly prohibiting the provision of virtual family members, virtual companions, and other virtual intimate relationship services to minors. In Taiwan, Taiwan Yiti Yanjiu Zhongxin (台灣議題研究中心) constructed an AI virtual voter model using “silicon sample” technology to simulate the support gap between Chiang Wan-an and Shen Bo-yang in the Taipei mayoral race, with scholars cautioning that while the technology shows promise, it remains in an early developmental stage with limited capacity to capture individual differences.