18 October 2026 News

Marketing : Short video platforms have seen a flood of mass-produced AI digital human marketing accounts, exemplified by the “Xiaohao” series, which use the same teenage image and fabricate tragic backstories including single-parent families, fathers with illnesses and debts, and bullying by classmates. These accounts affectionately address middle-aged and elderly female viewers as “aunties and mommies,” inducing purchases through sympathy-based pitches, with product prices generally higher than other e-commerce platforms and commission rebates reaching 50 to 55 percent. A year ago, the protagonist of similar schemes was “AI Jianguo Wang,” a formally dressed figure with a warm tone, but after platform crackdowns, supporting characters like his “son Xiaohao” were pushed to the forefront to continue extracting value from the same elderly audience. An operator A Niu (阿牛) claimed “pick the right middle-aged and elderly track, and making two or three thousand a day is modest,” with tutorials for creating such digital humans openly priced on social platforms, ranging from dozens to hundreds of yuan. A 79-year-old widow living alone Wang Hongmei (王红梅) once purchased a ticket intending to travel to Yuncheng, Shanxi to “seek family reunion” after being taken in by the scheme, but was stopped and persuaded to return by railway police in time. Meanwhile, the AI short drama “The Laid-Off Girl” featured the virtual protagonist “Fangtaozi” endorsing contact lens products in first-person narrative based on fictional wearing experiences, triggering false advertising controversy because AI virtual humans lack real eyeballs and cannot “personally test” products. The advertisement was subsequently removed, and regulatory departments in places including Chengdushi Shichang Jiandu Guanliju (成都市市场监督管理局) have issued “AI-Generated Advertisement Compliance Guidelines” to set boundaries for such virtual human marketing. Beijing Zhongke Jincai Technology Co., Ltd. launched a “digital human content production engine” and an enterprise-grade content interactive creation platform based on AIGC within its metaverse technology service matrix, integrating with the company’s metaverse digital marketing platform “Miji (觅际),” serving digital marketing scenarios for financial institutions, government and other clients.

Entertainment : Lv Paopao Duanju (绿泡泡短剧), a mini-program under the Tencent WeChat ecosystem, has officially launched, featuring the AI-synthesized-human time-travel themed short drama “The Empress Buds.” The drama’s mini-program viewership surpassed 100 million within three days, with peak concurrent online users breaking 2 million. The average viewing duration exceeded 30 minutes across both the mini-program and video channels, and advertising revenue reached several million yuan, marking Tencent’s differentiated entry into ByteDance Hongguo Duanju (红果短剧)-dominated free short drama market with AIGC-native short dramas. Haikan Gufen (海看股份) has partnered with Jinan Xunwang Hulianwangluo Keji (济南迅网互联网络科技有限公司) and Licheng Zhiye Zhongdengzhuanye Xuexiao (历城职业中等专业学校) to establish a digital media industry college, primarily leveraging the self-developed Jingling (鲸灵) AIGC film and television creation platform, which enables students to generate scripts and finished short dramas using AI and explores applications such as “bringing virtual idols into AR live streaming rooms,” creating a model for industry-academia integration in AIGC film and television creation. TVB has collaborated with Hongguo Duanju (红果短剧) to launch the vertical-screen short drama “Rules of Engagement” spin-off “Rules of Engagement: Willow by the Palace Wall,” in which the Empress role played by veteran actress Xie Xuexin (谢雪心) is reportedly to be presented in an “AI digital human plus live-action dual-mode” format, with her iconic cold smile expression decomposed into hundreds of micro-expression data packages for real-time algorithm invocation. Fengshang Culture Group Co., Ltd.’s Fengshang Huyu (锋尚互娱) has formed four major business segments including virtual performance cloud platform, virtual digital human operator, virtual artist management, and peripheral development, possessing in-house art and marketing teams to independently complete virtual digital human development, having participated in Migu Culture Technology World Cup music gala projects, and partnering with Migu Culture Technology to create the “cyberpunk” metaverse bit scene J WORLD. China Media Group’s controlling subsidiary Zhongshi Beifang (中视北方) under China Television Media completed CCTV virtual character “Xiaoba” using three-dimensional animation technology. Guangxian Chuanmei (光线传媒)’s invested company 7D Vision developed a generative AI toolkit AI Studio customized for iQiyi, featuring capabilities including text, voice, image, video, and three-dimensional model generation, and 7D Vision’s virtual reality products also include digital human technology. The AI idol field has recently witnessed successive ethical controversies: the AI girl group BABYQUEEN’s operating account fabricated a script in which member Mity “became pregnant and left the group,” which was verified as fabrication by operators to “reduce the character’s burden and exit,” drawing public criticism over sensationalizing consumption of reproductive issues through traffic-generating tactics; the AI digital artist Yaoke Media unveiled was criticized for facial features highly resembling real-life actress Di Zilu (翟子路), exposing controversy over AI character training materials allegedly extracting real human likenesses; short drama actress Liu Runming (刘润铭) publicly stated she would actively embrace AI new technology; Tang Jingmei (汤晶媚) proposed in a live stream that “actors should be grateful for being able to authorize AI,” sparking discussion about whether AI authorization should be called “gratitude.”

Enterprise : Alibaba Cloud announced that the virtual digital human product created by Tongyi Shiyanshi (通义实验室), which provides customized image solutions and AI-driven scenario-based implementation plans, has officially initiated a delisting process: new purchases will cease from November 30, 2026, subscription renewals and version updates will cease from May 31, 2027, and all services will be fully discontinued with console, ticket, and refund channels closed on November 30, 2027. Alibaba Cloud responded that this move represents normal product removal as part of strategic adjustment and product iteration, and recommended existing users migrate to third-party products such as Mayi Lingjing Shuzi Ren (蚂蚁灵境数字人), Xiangxin Shuzi Ren (相芯数字人), and Yizhi Zhineng AI Zhibo Shuzi Ren (一知智能AI直播数字人). Ant Group’s Mayi Lingjing Shuzi Ren (蚂蚁灵境数字人) supports real-person, cartoon, and photorealistic image styles with end-to-end services for interactive, content broadcast, and live streaming digital humans. FaceUnity has served over 20 sectors including mobile, automotive, e-commerce, and finance, with e-commerce live streaming customers achieving over ten million GMV conversion per session. Hangzhou Yizhi Zhineng Keji (杭州一知智能科技) positions itself as a “transaction-focused digital employee,” having generated approximately 300,000 digital human images for brand live streaming rooms cumulatively. JD.com launched consumer-facing AI shopping assistant “Dongdong” and real-time video shopping digital human JoyAI during the 2026 “Double 11” event, and created Jingmai AI Jingying Zhongxin (京麦AI经营中心)-compatible digital human JoyAvatar for merchants, with the event projected to serve over 90,000 merchants. Zhongguodongfanghangkong (中国东方航空) configured an APP video digital human customer service system for special passengers in travel services, achieving 24-hour response and member information modification services. Biyadi (比亚迪)’s third-generation Tang cabin’s newly exposed immersive UI interactive system incorporates an AI cute pet desktop virtual avatar named “Xiaomianbaozi” capable of perception recognition, voice responses, and boarding welcome interactions.

Cultural : In Shaoyang, Hunan Xinshaoxian (新邵县) during the Fifth Shaoyang Culture and Tourism Development Conference’s “Seeking the Pulse of Xinshao” performance, mascots “Long Xiaoshan” and “Zi Xiaoshui” debuted as AI digital humans, engaging in virtual-real interaction with the “Medicine King Sun Simiao” character in a non-heritage stage play, creating a set of “digital twins” for the thousand-year Medicine King medical culture. Sanmenxia Yangshaocun Bainian Kaogu Jinian Yuan (三门峡仰韶村百年考古纪念园) upon opening, the digital human tour guide “AI Tao Xiaomian” stationed in the museum provided full-journey explanations, delivering an immersive archaeological exhibition experience of “stories wherever you go.” Zhejiangshengwei Xuanchuanbu (浙江省委宣传部) during a commemorative thematic lecture for the 90th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese Workers and Peasants’ Red Army Long March, the AI interactive lecture work “Magical Night at the Party History Museum” enabled young lecturers to dialogue with AI digital humans, progressively “unlocking” participants of the Zunyi Conference and returning to the historical scene. At a themed park and resort development conference, iFLYTEK cultural and tourism product line deputy general manager Wang Dongxue (汪冬雪) introduced that, leveraging proprietary large models and multimodal virtual human engines, themed parks can be equipped with virtual character images possessing independent personality profiles, recording historical interaction details of visitors and proactively providing personalized services, but must strictly adhere to “IP ethics agreements” jointly formulated with IP holders to prevent character personas from being altered or causing cognitive confusion.

Content Creation : On Baidu’s automotive information platform You Jia (有驾), numerous automobile content creators use AI digital avatar accounts to publish short videos on vehicle usage tips, such as “Electric Vehicle Intelligence Bureau_AI Avatar,” “Fat Guy Car God Nuannuan_AI Avatar,” “Driving Vision LuLu AI Avatar,” “Qipa_AI Avatar,” “Driving Vision Gaoyang AI Avatar,” and “Xiaoxiong Talks Cars_AI Avatar.” These AI avatars mass-produce content about vehicle repair, maintenance, and purchasing in the image and style of the creators themselves, becoming a common form of AI clone persona application in automobile information content production.

Companion Apps : Emotional blogger Qu Qu Da Nv Ren (real name Le Chuanqu (乐传曲)), who has been banned from multiple platforms for nearly three years, has launched an AI emotional counseling app Meiren Zhizhao (美人支招) through an affiliated company, featuring a virtual character “Mei Zhu Zhu” with a simulated tone and value judgment style matching her own; the team claims to have trained the system with over 200,000 real cases, providing features such as chat analysis, conversation script generation, and conflict simulation exercises; after six months online, the app has achieved approximately 230,000 global downloads and revenue of approximately 560,000 U.S. dollars (approximately 3.75 million yuan), with users able to purchase 199-yuan monthly cards, 569-yuan quarterly cards, or 1,999-yuan annual cards, and acquire new users through an invitation code mechanism offering 15% commissions; the product has sparked controversy due to low technical barriers, provocative advice, and lack of practical implementation details. Haiyi Huyu (海艺互娱)’s subsidiary SeaArt AI has launched SeaHaze, an AI character creation social application allowing users to define character appearance, personality, and backstory and save them to a personal character library for continuous interactive storytelling experiences; within the statistical period, the product achieved approximately 107,000 global downloads and approximately 251,000 U.S. dollars in revenue growth, at one point ranking ninth on the U.S. Google Play social applications chart; another product by Hai Yi Sea Soul focuses on customized AI character chatting.

Ethical Contexts : Regarding the chaos of AI digital avatars engaging in tragic storytelling to promote products, psychology experts have analyzed that accounts such as “AI Wang Jianguo” and “AI Xiaohai” Yaoke Media respond frequently and immediately to the emotional needs of middle-aged and elderly users, making it easy for isolated, widowed, or empty-nest seniors to equate virtual emotions with real relationships. Legal professionals have emphasized that operators fabricating backstories to induce elderly people to make purchases constitute fraud in civil law, and in serious cases may constitute the crime of fraud. They stress that “AI automatic content generation cannot serve as a reason for exemption from liability.” If short-video platforms knowingly continue to push such schemes through algorithms, they must also bear corresponding management and legal responsibilities. The article simultaneously calls for children to replace simple exposure with companionship and empathy, and recommends disabling password-free payment functions on elderly users’ phones to reduce risks. Regarding the controversy triggered by AI girl group BABYQUEEN’s fabricated member “pregnancy” exit storyline, commentators point out that this approach packages real female reproduction issues as a virtual character exit script, blurring the boundaries between fiction and reality, and easily misleads audiences. Combined with the previous incident where AI digital artist “Qin Lingyue” was accused of plagiarizing the facial features of a real actor, public opinion calls for AI virtual idol creation to avoid directly applying sensitive social issues from the real world as plot devices, commercial endorsements must not fabricate product usage experiences, must clearly label AI-generated content, and must uphold legal baselines regarding advertising law and portrait rights. Regarding the phenomenon of domestic “AI singers” such as Xu Bai and Lin Hai becoming popular with virtual human voice works completely “created” by AI voice synthesis technology, scholars from a technical philosophy perspective point out that AI-synthesized human voices can “pass off the fake as genuine” or even surpass human limits in timbre and emotional expression. However, AI lacks spirit, embodiment, and genuine emotional experience. Long-term reliance on such standardized voices may gradually narrow audiences’ auditory perception. The industry should establish baselines for AI voice creation in terms of copyright confirmation, professional ethics, and pluralistic co-governance, avoiding improper displacement of professional groups such as voice actors and young singers under capital logic-driven AI.