AI avatars beat human influencers—post $7.6M sales in 7 hours
What's the story
In a groundbreaking development, artificial intelligence (AI) avatars have outperformed human influencers in terms of sales.
The milestone was achieved during a recent livestream session on Baidu's e-commerce platform "Youxuan."
Chinese entrepreneur Luo Yonghao and his co-host Xiao Mu used interactive digital avatars powered by Baidu's generative AI model for the event.
The session generated an impressive 55 million yuan ($7.65 million) in sales within just over six hours.
Sales comparison
Difference in numbers
Luo's first livestream on Youxuan last month, which was just over four hours long, didn't generate as many orders for consumer electronics, food and other key products.
This stark difference highlights the potential of AI avatars in driving sales.
"The digital human effect has scared me ... I'm a bit dazed," Luo told his 1.7 million followers on Weibo after the successful session with the digital avatars.
Technological advancement
What are digital avatars?
The digital avatars used by Luo and Xiao were created using Baidu's generative AI model, which learned from five years' worth of videos to mimic their jokes and style.
This technological advancement marks a major leap in the field of livestreaming and digital human interaction.
Wu Jialu, head of research at Luo's other company Be Friends Holding, said this is a "DeepSeek moment for China's entire livestreaming and digital human industry."
Cost-effectiveness
Advantages of AI influencers
AI avatars can significantly cut costs as businesses don't have to hire a big production team or studio for livestreaming.
The digital avatars can also stream continuously without taking breaks, making them an efficient alternative to human influencers.
"We have always been skeptical about digital people livestreaming," Wu said, adding that Baidu now offers the best digital human product in the market compared to five or six years ago when livestreaming e-commerce started gaining traction.
Market shift
Popularity of livestream shopping in China
Livestream shopping has gained immense popularity in China, especially after the pandemic forced businesses to explore alternative sales channels.
The trend has led to a surge of people turning to livestreaming for earning money through commissions and virtual gifts amid slower economic growth.
Last year, Douyin's livestreaming generated so many sales that it overtook traditional e-commerce giant JD.com as China's second-largest e-commerce platform, according to a report by Worldpanel and Bain & Company.