AI-generated avatars in China have recently outshone human livestreamers by generating over $7 million in sales within just seven hours. This milestone was achieved through a partnership between Baidu and well-known livestreamer Luo Yonghao on Baidu’s Youxuan e-commerce platform.
Luo and his co-host Xiao Mu used AI-created digital versions of themselves to engage with viewers for over six hours, resulting in sales of approximately 55 million yuan ($7.65 million). This surpassed Luo’s previous livestream performance on the same platform.
Luo, who began livestreaming in 2020 on Douyin to help repay debts from his smartphone company Smartisan, expressed surprise at the success of the virtual avatars, telling his 1.7 million Weibo followers, “The digital human effect has scared me … I’m a bit dazed.”
The avatars were developed using Baidu’s generative AI, trained on five years of video footage to replicate Luo and Xiao Mu’s unique style and humour. Wu Jialu, head of research at Luo’s company Be Friends Holding, called this a “DeepSeek moment” for China’s livestreaming and digital human industry, referencing the AI startup DeepSeek’s cost-effective, open-source models.
AI avatars offer clear advantages: they reduce production costs by eliminating the need for studios and large teams and can stream continuously without breaks. This efficiency is crucial in China’s competitive livestream shopping market, which has grown rapidly since the pandemic. According to Bain & Company and Worldpanel, Douyin’s livestream sales recently surpassed JD.com, becoming China’s second-largest e-commerce platform and challenging Alibaba’s dominance.
Despite these advances, challenges remain. High return rates from impulse purchases and strict regulatory compliance pose hurdles. Platforms like Douyin have introduced restrictions on virtual avatars, especially if they fail to interact with viewers. Wu noted that regulatory and platform requirements are now the main obstacles, rather than technology.
Luo’s next virtual livestream is expected soon, and with multilingual capabilities, AI avatars could soon expand beyond China to global audiences. This development shows the growing role of AI-driven digital humans in transforming e-commerce, offering scalable, cost-effective, and engaging alternatives to traditional influencers.
Industry experts predict China’s livestream e-commerce market will exceed $400 billion by 2026, driven by innovations like AI avatars.