23 October 2026 News

Entertainment : Domestic AI-native virtual artists are evolving from content gimmicks into assessable commercial assets. The lead character “Fang Taozi” from the short drama “The Girl Who Got Fired” accumulated 558,000 followers through daily off-screen updates, with topic heat reaching 560 million views and advertising rates reaching a maximum of 258,000 yuan per deal, but her endorsement of contact lens products faced scrutiny for “a virtual person without eyes claiming wearing experience,” leading to the ad being taken down; Qi Wei (戚薇) launched official digital avatar “Han Qingxia,” participating as a producer in refining facial expressions and micro-expressions, first producing AI comic drama “The Last Brilliant Summer,” with subsequent plans to expand into interactive content and virtual livestreaming, while exploring revenue-sharing mechanisms for collaborating creators. Mangguo TV (芒果TV) announced five native AI artists—Chengdu, Fangyu, Lin Enna, Qi Xu, and Zhanyan—in one go, equipped with independent character asset libraries and real-person managers and screenwriting teams, simultaneously launching the AI short drama “Amazing Friends,” aiming to keep character ownership and commercial development rights in the platform’s hands; Yaoke Media first gained recognition by starring Qin Lingyue and Lin Xiyan in the AIGC drama series “The Bronze Mystery of Qinling,” then signed both as artists, but after the series aired, Lin Xiyan’s account stopped updating, exposing insufficient operations and content feedback. Brand collaborations are also deepening: in the AI drama “Surprise! My Rival and I Have a Child Season 2,” the male lead Qi You became Hailan Zhimi (海蓝之谜)’s “promotional ambassador,” with purchase anchors directly embedded in the plot, and Qi You also dropped into Hailan Zhimi (海蓝之谜)’s livestream to sell goods in his character persona; if Guojiu (if果酒) collaborated with the folk-style comic drama “There is a Spirit in the Mountains” on a spin-off, completing planning and launch within a month while driving rapid GMV growth for new products; Hongqi Qiche (红旗汽车)’s self-produced AI short drama “The Great Ming Tianggong Partners” deposited two reusable high-precision digital humans, continuing to be used in subsequent marketing campaigns. In the variety show sector, Ali Da Wenyu (阿里大文娱)’s digital human “Li Li” served as a question-setter for the observational program “The Cat in the Box,” and the folk-style AI digital human “Guo Xiaofeng” participated in “Super Theatrical Chinese Style,” reflecting the new variety show form of “AI and real people mashup.” Former miHoYo AI head Xing Jun (邢骏) founded Bantu Keji (半图科技), launching the AI-native 3D virtual idol product 《 Daihao Live 》 (《代号Live》), where players cultivate the virtual idol Ria’s growth path as a “producer,” achieving 72% retention the day after the first test with users averaging 200 daily interactions, and the company has received two rounds of tens-of-millions-of-dollars-level financing led by IDG Ziben (IDG资本). Additionally, users on social platforms have shared stories of spending over a thousand yuan within a year purchasing SV concert tickets to watch virtual artists perform, reflecting how virtual idol consumption is forming a stable fan economy.

Marketing : Double 11 mega promotion becomes a testing ground for large-scale application of digital humans: JD.com digital humans JoyAvatar achieve round-the-clock live streaming, with over 90,000 merchants leveraging AI digital humans to continuously reach users and automatically generate sales strategies, with internal testing data showing that AI placement models improve return on investment by over 20% compared to traditional placement. Beauty company Wan Mei Shengwu (丸美生物) has created the digital human “Wan Xiaoyuan” which has been fully integrated with DeepSeek - V3 (DeepSeek-V3) large model interfaces, serving corporate digital transformation and customer interaction; Hebei Guangdian (河北广电)’s subsidiary Hebei Broadcasting and Television Wireless Media developed an AI-based digital human interaction system, completing image capture and modeling, skeletal motion binding, and multimodal interaction engine development, enabling digital humans to seamlessly integrate into IPTV set-top boxes, OTT, and smart terminal pan-screen applications; Yunnanlvyou (云南旅游)’s wholly-owned subsidiary Huaqiaocheng Wenlv Keji (华侨城文旅科技) created the virtual anchor “Hilarious Sisters,” which leverages real-time facial expression capture and full-body motion capture technology to achieve real-time interaction with viewers, with total online followers already exceeding 10 million. At the same time, the phenomenon of e-commerce platforms widely using AI-generated “virtual models” to display clothing has also drawn attention: numerous platforms’ product images and videos show models whose backs remain frontal-facing after turning around, arms disappearing into thin air and reappearing from another side, and other issues that clearly violate physiological structure, with some merchants even generating realistic AI model images through “face-fusion” without authorization from real models. Court precedents have already established that operators bear a duty to review AI-generated promotional content; if AI images differ significantly from actual products and such differences are not truthfully disclosed leading to consumer mispurchases, it may constitute consumer fraud.

Public Services : Government service systems in multiple locations have begun introducing digital humans as intelligent service portals. Zhejiang Yidong (浙江移动) The Zhexi Token operation factory launched in Quzhou supports the intelligent digital human “Qu Xiaoshu” Qujiangqu Da Shujuzhongxin (衢江区大数据中心), compressing cross-departmental report writing to the minute level, with policy interpretation proofreading accuracy improved by 90% compared to manual work; Nanchang Honggu Tanqu Shimin Zhongxin (南昌红谷滩区市民中心) created the province’s first informatized proxy service brand e Jian Bangban (e见幫辦), introducing the digital human “Xiao Ganshi,” achieving 24-hour non-stop service and having served over 50,000 residents. Cable television operator Tianwei Shixun (天威视讯) disclosed that its current AI technology is primarily applied to internal business operations, having launched TV AI voice digital humans and intelligent customer service innovations to optimize user experience, and plans to build AI operations intelligent agents to gradually transition to an intelligent operations system; the company explicitly stated that related AI business is still in the exploratory cultivation stage. Shenzhen Longgangqu Qiye Guojihua Fuwu Jidi (深圳龙岗区企业国际化服务基地) The AI digital human “Longqi Zhi” possesses five core capabilities of intelligent analysis, industry insights, project coaching, resource matching, and risk early warning, providing full-cycle landing support for smart hardware innovation projects from concept verification to mass production and overseas expansion, with the related base releasing overseas cooperation orders exceeding 10 billion yuan annually.

Cultural and Tourism : Digital humans are becoming standard configurations in cultural tourism and cultural dissemination scenarios across various regions. Xianshi Zhengxie (西安市政协) recommended in a thematic consultation that, leveraging major archaeological sites such as the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor and Han Chang’an City, XR and MR technologies be employed to restore historical scenes, and AI tour guides and digital human explanations and other intelligent services be popularized to advance the full-process digitalization of cultural tourism services; Hanzhong in Shaanxi showcased achievements in modern agriculture and rural revitalization through digital human livestreaming and other forms on Yangling Nonggaohui (杨凌农高会). Jingdezhenshi Wenlvju (景德镇市文旅局) launched the cultural tourism municipal digital platform “Changyou Jingdezhen (畅游景德镇)”, with its core featuring AI digital companion tour capabilities built on domestic servers and a cultural tourism-specific large language model, enabling intelligent Q&A, personalized itinerary customization, dynamic route adjustments during tours and emergency assistance, and incubating distinctive scenarios such as “Customized Jingdezhen” AI digital carriers. In a series of commemorative content marking the 90th anniversary of the Red Army’s Long March victory, Quanguofulian (全国妇联) digital human “Lianlian” accompanied the reading of writer Wang Yuanjian (王愿坚)’s red classic Night March on the Grassland, while the AI short drama Breakthrough also presented a spiritual relay through cross-temporal narrative techniques. 2026 Jinan ( Quancheng ) Malasong (2026济南(泉城)马拉松) unveiled the AI mascot “Jiubao” in creative videos interacting with real scenes, with “Jiubao” traversing landmarks such as Jinan Olympic Sports Center, Jingshi Road, and Yuhuang Mountain Tunnel from a game level-clearing perspective, transforming hardcore competition rules into a “runner’s guide to level-clearing” through the form of AI virtual humans.

Healthcare : The “digital twin” in the healthcare sector is transitioning from concept to large-scale implementation. Zijing Zhikang (紫荆智康), established in 2024, held a multi-agent collaborative ecosystem launch conference in Beijing. Its core product Agent Hospital system has been deployed in multiple physical hospitals, covering 27 departments and over a thousand diseases. The system creates a dedicated doctor twin agent for each physician, continuously learning the doctor’s consultation style and diagnostic logic through a “symbiotic evolution” mechanism, and has introduced multidisciplinary human-machine collaboration functions that enable multiple doctor twin agents to conduct coordinated consultations around the same patient. Chief Product Officer Qiao Yuchen (乔宇宸) emphasized that AI serves as a collaborative tool for doctors, with final diagnosis and medication decisions remaining with physicians. Zijing Zhikang (紫荆智康) has been deployed in cross-border medical scenarios at the China-Vietnam border in Dongxingshi Renmin Yiyuan (东兴市人民医院), and is advancing overseas expansion through cooperation with government departments in Singapore and Italy as well as partners in Riphah International University and Kazakhstan. Its online virtual clinic is open to practicing physicians and medical students globally, leveraging millions of AI patient agents to replace standardized patients in traditional medical education. In the insurance sector, Taikang Zaixian (泰康在线) has constructed digital employee claims twin agents that provide 24/7 services through enterprise WeChat as an entry point using multi-agent technology, capable of handling approximately 20 claims cases simultaneously. The AI intelligent service officer “Zhihui Xiaofu” in underwriting has covered over 20,000 breast cancer customers, reducing response time from 3 minutes to 20 seconds. On the pharmaceutical side, Tongyuan Kang Shengwu (同源康生物)’s Chief AI Officer Xian Xuan (鲜翾) is advancing “digital twins” to participate in new drug initiation review mechanisms, requiring the digital twins of the Chief AI Officer and scientists from each department to conduct preliminary evaluations and scoring of new pipelines first. Scientists must continuously train their own digital twins to consolidate professional judgment logic, or projects will face difficulties in approval. At the pharmaceutical digital marketing forum, Zhongguo Yiyaoweisheng Wenhua Xiehui Zhihui Yibao Fenhui (中国医药卫生文化协会智慧医保分会) Director Zhang Qun (张群) proposed that intelligent management, post-hospital digital human follow-up and monitoring, and medication guidance practices help improve patient medication adherence and have positive implications for rational drug use and medical insurance fund security.

Education : Shanghaishifandaxue (上海师范大学) released the nation’s first AI training platform for cultivating teachers’ heart-nurturing capabilities, with the core launch of an AI psychological resilience intelligent agent that conducts dialogue drills through digital humans simulating typical roles such as seventh-grade boys in conversation with psychology teachers, helping student teachers and in-service teachers enhance their practical abilities in identifying students’ emotional signals and conducting heart-to-heart conversations. The platform has undergone trial operations in over a dozen primary and secondary schools, with feedback iteration involving over one hundred frontline teachers. Chongqingshi Nananqu (重庆市南岸区) proposed exploring the co-establishment of “AI + Brain Science Learning Force Laboratories” with universities and research institutions, piloting the development of “scientist digital twins,” and ensuring that each school conducts at least one AI research and study practical session per semester. Huanghuai Xueyuan (黄淮学院) and Zhumadian Oumei Tongxuehui (驻马店欧美同学会) jointly held a special lecture on “Artificial Intelligence Empowering Medical, Health and Wellness Services,” with Professor Xiandianzikejidaxue (西安电子科技大学) and Wang Hao (王皓) explaining key technologies including personal health data capsules, digital twins, and trusted intelligent agent collaboration, and analyzing application scenarios in home care, communities, and elderly care institutions based on Guangzhou’s smart medical and health-wellness model.

Enterprise : Shanghai Touzi Cujin Fuwuzhongxin (上海投资促进服务中心) has launched an “Investment Promotion Master Class” incorporating an “AI Coaching Sandbox,” where each investment promotion trainee can log into a dedicated digital avatar and repeatedly simulate high-pressure scenarios such as “conducting technical due diligence conversations with enterprise CTOs” and “reporting industrial implementation plans to management committees,” thereby enhancing the practical capabilities of investment promotion personnel. Shanxi Yinglei Dongman Keji (山西英磊动漫科技有限公司), which specializes in enterprise AI agent customization services, has issued analysis indicating that digital humans belong to the “front-end image” layer, intelligent customer service addresses single Q&A scenarios, while AI agents are responsible for undertaking complete business processes that can execute multiple steps and make handoff judgments; enterprises should first clarify the boundaries between the three when selecting solutions. Baidu Shijie 2026 (百度世界2026) has established a dedicated digital human agent sub-forum at the conference, focusing on the application upgrades of digital human agents in scenarios such as brand marketing, cross-border expansion, after-sales service, and enterprise training, exploring how to upgrade digital humans from mere virtual images to schedulable, reusable productivity units within intelligent organizations that continuously create value.

Gaming : The “dream girl” culture surrounding the virtual game character “Bian Que” has recently sparked controversy. A blogger claiming to be a devoted fan of the character for a decade gained substantial support from like-minded enthusiasts through cultivating a sincere persona, but was subsequently exposed for making inflammatory remarks and engaging in cyberbullying. The stark contrast between the constructed image and prior persona has prompted public reflection on whether fan communities should uphold online civility standards and rationally distinguish between affection for virtual characters and real-world aggressive behavior.

Ethical Contexts : Regarding the division of marital property surrounding AIGC revenue and digital virtual personas, notable judicial precedents have emerged: Jiangsusheng Suzhoushi Huqiuqu Renminfayuan (江苏省苏州市虎丘区人民法院) and Hunansheng Xiangyinxian Renminfayuan (湖南省湘阴县人民法院) both adopted an approach of “account ownership remaining with the operator, with compensation based on assessed value to the other party” for self-media accounts with massive followings. Legal professionals have proposed that determinations should combine assessment of the personal attribute strength of “virtual natives” versus “digital avatars of real persons,” comprehensively judging ownership and compensation ratios across four dimensions: image, voice, content, and behavior. Elderly populations are becoming priority targets for AI digital persona fraud: reporter investigations discovered that accounts such as “Xiaohaimao” and “Domineering Brother” on short-video platforms, which share the same AI facial template, use poignant scripts to precisely capture emotional voids in seniors, inducing purchases and livestream sales, and after account suspension, rapidly regenerate under new identities—one septuagenarian even took a train alone intending to visit a virtual character in another city before railway police intervention revealed the character was not real; Hunansheng Dier Renmin Yiyuan (湖南省第二人民医院) experts analyzed that such scams exploit seniors’ intense need for warm companionship, recommending that family members respond through emotional reciprocation rather than crude phone confiscation. Public figures including actors Wu Yue (吴越) and Wen Zhengrong (温峥嵘) recently faced consecutive incidents of AI deepfake and voice spoofing for fraudulent sales, with offending accounts attempting to evade responsibility by merely marking “contains AI-generated content” in corners, only to face permanent platform bans after public outcry; reporter undercover investigations discovered that a mature “AI face theft” industry chain has formed in the market, with 30-second short videos requiring only 100 yuan to customize celebrity or influencer faces for sales content, with new accounts reaching tens of thousands of followers after approximately one week of cultivation. In response, Nankaidaxue Faxueyuan (南开大学法学院) vice dean Chen Bing (陈兵) published an article pointing out that China has gradually constructed a governance framework for digital virtual personas, with relevant regulations explicitly requiring continuous display of “digital persona” labels throughout digital person services, prohibiting unauthorized use of others’ biometric information for modeling, prohibiting provision of virtual intimate relationship services to minors, and requiring platforms to assume full lifecycle safety management responsibility; Zuigaorenminfayuan (最高人民法院) also made clear that using AI to generate recognizable virtual digital images or synthesized voices of specific natural persons for “celebrity impersonation sales,” if constituting fraud without consent, entitles consumers to claim punitive damages. Additionally, children’s smartwatch brand Xiao Tiancai (小天才) faced criticism for embedding closed social functions including virtual avatars and achievement badges in its social platform “homepage circle,” with questions raised about whether it leverages children’s peer social needs to “coerce” parents into purchasing the same brand devices, with public opinion calling for relevant enterprises to maintain ethical boundaries when designing virtual social functions in children’s products.

Media Production : Xi’an has leveraged its mature production chain and AIGC technology to become a domestic hub for AI short-drama production. Hengdian Yingshicheng (横店影视城) Related reports focus on the local AI short-drama export practices, pointing out that relying on AI generation, digital human on-screen talent, and intelligent editing, the threshold for short-drama mass production has significantly lowered, though compliance risks including homogenization and unclear intellectual property rights for digital human likenesses remain to be resolved through content standardization and compliance review. ByteDance has intensively built an AI video tool matrix over the past two months, with its subsidiary Ji Meng AI (即梦AI) launching AI avatar and inspiration extraction features based on Seedance 2.0 models to attract mainstream users; the short-drama vertical tool “Xiao Yunque (小云雀)” is the industry’s first short-drama Agent equipped with Seedance 2.0 models; Jianying Hub (剪映Hub) connects the entire AI generation and editing workflow. LED display and motion capture enterprise Leyard Optoelectronic Co., Ltd. disclosed that its AI and spatial computing business centered on OptiTrack optical motion capture technology generated 159 million yuan in operating revenue in the first half of 2026, with widespread applications in game development, film and television production, virtual digital humans, and embodied AI. In lighter-weight content scenarios, multiple automotive information content creators have widely adopted AI avatar formats to continuously produce short videos on vehicle usage techniques, indicating that digital human talent is permeating long-tail vertical content creation.

Taiwan : Taiwan Shenglang Wenhua (声朗文化) has joined hands with Taiwan Rengongzhihui Shiyanshi (台湾人工智慧实验室) and Yating Zhihui (雅婷智慧股份有限公司) to launch an AI interactive storytelling platform “ibokids Aibo Baobei (ibokids愛播寶貝)”, where parents only need to record a few sentences, and AI voice cloning technology can learn sound characteristics and generate a personalized “AI avatar” to tell bedtime stories to children. The platform will in the future collaborate with Liyingfang (麗嬰房) to expand into channels such as postpartum care centers. Taiwan Rengongzhihui Shiyanshi (台湾人工智慧实验室) founder Du Yijin (杜奕瑾) pointed out that the core of this technology lies in allowing AI narration to preserve the distinctive vocal characteristics familiar to individuals. Longhua Keji Daxue (龍華科技大學) students in the Department of Multimedia and Game Development performed outstandingly in the metaverse virtual influencer design and creation competition. A virtual character “Luling” created by Li Jiawei (李嘉薇) won both the Silver Award in the generative artificial intelligence category and the Best Popularity Award from online voting. The department director Lu Dawei (盧大為) stated that the department will continue to deepen interdisciplinary teaching in 3D animation, game art, virtual characters, and AI creation. Taiwan-based enterprise Wanmei Yidong (玩美移动) recently launched a new “AI glasses removal” feature for its AI glasses virtual try-on solution. By leveraging generative AI to restore in real time the facial areas blocked by users’ own glasses, myopic users can obtain a more realistic virtual try-on effect of new eyeglass frames without removing their glasses. This feature can already be integrated into e-commerce webpages, mobile apps, and self-service equipment in offline stores.

Consumer Technology : On short-video platforms, AI-generated virtual cats and dogs are becoming new traffic and commercial entry points. A programmer Zhu Buer (祝不二)’s spare-time account “Ahuang and This Village” featuring a virtual yellow dog gained over 60 million plays across the internet in its first month; a photographer Lao Zhao (老赵)’s account “Lao Zhao Has a Cat” saw its first video break 6 million views overnight; a product manager Mo Ning (莫宁)’s “Fat Orange Cat Dundun” account topped traffic rankings with content featuring “a cat bestie shopping at the mall,” currently commanding approximately 350,000 followers with advertising contracts already booked through November; a brand Tiandi Yihao (天地壹号)’s account “Guigui the Cat” created an AI virtual image based on a real office cat, accumulating 140,000 followers. In recruitment scenarios, AI interviewers have adopted virtual face forms to interact with job candidates, scoring dimensions such as logical expression and professional capability through preset scoring standards and structured reports, but multiple candidates reported that AI interviewers have issues with misidentifying key points and repetitive questioning, with some candidates even using another AI to answer the AI interviewer’s questions. In the IP licensing field, Mosikeshi Wenhua Chuangyi Chanye Shu (莫斯科市文化创意产业署) unveiled the virtual character “Pika Xiaomo,” inspired by Moscow Zoo’s internet-famous pika “Timofei,” at the China International Licensing Expo held in Shanghai, and plans to develop derivatives and digital content through Chinese partners, with related pop-up activities already launched in Shanghai’s Wujiao Plaza.