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AI Avatars Outperform Human Hosts in China’s Livestream Shopping Boom

Artificial intelligence avatars are proving to be more effective sales influencers than human hosts, as demonstrated by a groundbreaking livestream event in China that generated over $7.65 million in sales in just seven hours. The session, held on Baidu’s e-commerce livestream platform Youxuan, involved two AI-generated avatars modeled after popular Chinese entrepreneur Luo Yonghao and his co-host Xiao Mu.

The avatars, powered by Baidu’s advanced generative AI, engaged with viewers in real-time for over six hours on Sunday. This single AI-powered session outperformed Luo’s previous human-hosted livestream on the same platform just one month earlier, which lasted more than four hours but resulted in fewer sales.

A Milestone for China’s AI-Driven E-Commerce Industry

“This is a DeepSeek moment for China’s entire livestreaming and digital human industry,” said Wu Jialu, head of research at Luo’s company Be Friends Holding, referencing the rapid rise of China’s DeepSeek AI platform, often compared to OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

The AI avatars were trained on five years of archived video content, learning the unique humor, speech patterns, and sales techniques of Luo and Xiao. The result: near-flawless replication of their natural interaction styles, jokes, and product pitches, all without the physical fatigue or production limitations of traditional livestreams.

Luo, who gained widespread fame as one of China’s earliest livestreaming pioneers, expressed shock at the success of the AI avatars. “The digital human effect has scared me. I’m a bit dazed,” he told his 1.7 million followers on Chinese social media platform Weibo.

Livestream Shopping Becomes Big Business in China

China’s livestream shopping industry has grown explosively since the pandemic reshaped consumer behavior. Platforms like Douyin (China’s version of TikTok), Taobao, and JD.com have seen massive growth in livestream-driven sales, with Douyin recently surpassing JD.com to become China’s second-largest e-commerce platform, according to a Worldpanel and Bain & Company report.

These platforms allow influencers, celebrities, and now AI avatars to sell products in real-time, offering viewers special discounts, live product demonstrations, and interactive experiences that traditional e-commerce websites struggle to match. For many consumers, livestream shopping offers an engaging blend of entertainment and retail.

Cost Savings and 24/7 Operation Make AI Avatars Even More Appealing

Beyond their sales success, AI avatars present significant operational advantages. Unlike human hosts who require large production teams, physical studios, and mandatory rest periods, digital avatars can stream non-stop, dramatically lowering costs for e-commerce companies.

“We were initially skeptical about digital humans livestreaming,” Wu admitted, noting that the company had experimented with various forms of virtual influencers over the years. However, Baidu’s latest AI technology has proven to deliver unprecedented performance, he said.

Tencent and other major Chinese tech companies are also investing heavily in AI-generated digital humans for various applications, including news broadcasting, education, entertainment, and now e-commerce.

Regulatory and Compliance Challenges Loom

While the technology is advancing quickly, regulatory concerns are becoming a growing obstacle. “The biggest challenge now is not technology, but compliance,” Wu emphasized. Virtual avatars must be trained to adhere strictly to regulations on advertising accuracy, consumer protection, and platform-specific rules.

Platforms such as Douyin have already begun imposing tighter restrictions on virtual livestreaming hosts, especially when these AI avatars fail to engage actively with live viewers, as regulators worry about misleading sales tactics and consumer trust issues.

Potential for Global Expansion

The success of Luo’s AI avatars has sparked speculation about the global potential of this emerging industry. Wu predicts that digital humans will soon livestream in multiple languages, opening the door to international markets far beyond China.

As AI-powered avatars become increasingly sophisticated, analysts believe they could reshape the global influencer marketing and e-commerce sectors, challenging the dominance of human influencers while offering new scalable business models for companies worldwide.

A Glimpse into the Future of Retail and Digital Media

While some analysts caution that livestream-driven sales often lead to high product return rates due to impulsive purchases, others see AI avatars as an inevitable evolution of digital commerce. By merging artificial intelligence, interactive media, and retail, companies like Baidu are pushing the boundaries of how products are marketed and sold in real-time.

As competition among tech giants intensifies, China’s booming AI-powered livestream market offers a glimpse into the potential future of global retail — where human-like digital influencers operate 24/7, customized for every market, audience, and language.