AI Avatars Outsell Human Hosts in China’s 6-Hour Livestream: Baidu Event Sparks Viral Debate

Key Points

• AI avatars in China seem to be effective influencers, with a recent livestream generating over $7 million in sales.

• Research suggests they outperformed human-led streams, but the long-term impact is still emerging.

• The evidence leans toward AI avatars being cost-efficient and engaging, especially in e-commerce.

Event Overview

In a recent livestream on Baidu’s e-commerce platform, two AI avatars, powered by Baidu’s ERNIE model, generated over $7 million in sales in approximately 6 hours. Hosted by Luo Yonghao, this event marked the first use of dual digital avatars as co-hosts, reaching over 13 million viewers and promoting 133 products.

Performance Comparison

The AI avatars reportedly outperformed a human-led stream in just 26 minutes, suggesting they may be more efficient for sales generation. This highlights their potential in livestreaming, though more research is needed to assess broader implications.

Industry Context

China’s live commerce sector, valued at $946 billion, already uses over 100,000 digital humans, with AI reducing costs by up to 80% and increasing transactions by 62% on average. This event underscores AI’s growing role in influencer marketing.

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Survey Note: Detailed Analysis of AI Avatars as Influencers in China

This note provides a comprehensive examination of the recent livestream event involving AI avatars in China, focusing on their performance as influencers and the broader implications for e-commerce and digital marketing. The analysis is based on multiple sources, including news articles, social media posts, and community discussions, to ensure a thorough understanding of the event and its context.

Event Details and Performance Metrics

On Sunday, June 15, 2025, a livestream event took place on Baidu’s e-commerce platform, “Youxuan,” featuring two AI avatars as co-hosts. These digital versions were built using Baidu’s generative AI model, ERNIE, and were trained on five years’ worth of videos to mimic the jokes and style of human livestreamers. The event was hosted by Luo Yonghao, a prominent figure in China’s livestreaming industry, and lasted over six hours, generating significant engagement and sales.

Key performance metrics include:

• Duration: Approximately 6 hours, with the X post from Baidu Inc. noting a “6+ hour livestream.”

• Viewers Reached: Over 13 million, as reported in the X post and corroborated by TheRundown.ai.

• Sales Generated: 55 million RMB in gross merchandise value (GMV), equivalent to approximately $7.65 million USD based on the current exchange rate of 1 CNY ≈ 0.13913 USD, as confirmed by a currency converter on June 19, 2025. This aligns with the user’s mention of “over $7 million,” though the exact figure slightly exceeds this threshold.

• Products Promoted: 133 SKUs, as noted in a reply to the Baidu X post, highlighting the avatars’ ability to handle diverse product demonstrations.

• Engagement: The livestream featured real-time interaction, with 97,000+ characters of product descriptions generated by AI, and viewer comments visible in the video, indicating active audience participation.

A video glimpse of the livestream is available at this Weibo link, showcasing the avatars in action, though access may require a Chinese social media account.

Comparison to Human-Led Streams

The event’s success is particularly notable when compared to human-led streams. According to TheRundown.ai, the AI avatars outperformed a human-led stream in just 26 minutes, a significant achievement given the competitive nature of China’s live commerce sector. This performance is attributed to the avatars’ ability to switch tones on-the-fly, learn conversion data in real time, and maintain attention stamina over the 6-hour duration, with less than 2 seconds latency between prompts and on-screen banter, as mentioned in a reply to the Baidu X post.

The cost efficiency of AI avatars is another factor, with TheRundown.ai reporting a potential cost reduction of up to 80% and a 62% increase in transaction volumes compared to human-led streams. This suggests that AI avatars may offer a scalable and economical alternative for e-commerce brands, particularly in a sector valued at $946 billion, where over 100,000 digital humans are already in use.

Technological and Industry Context

The AI avatars were powered by Baidu’s ERNIE foundation model, which enabled real-time interaction, AI-driven scripts, and intelligent education features, as seen in the video content from the Baidu X post. The avatars’ ability to break through physical limitations was highlighted, with discussions in the livestream touching on autonomous driving and the potential for digital hosts to broadcast continuously, taking over at different times of the day (e.g., human hosts in the morning and digital avatars at night).

China’s live commerce industry, as detailed in TheRundown.ai, is a massive $946 billion sector, with digital humans playing an increasingly prominent role. The use of AI in this context is not new, but this event represents a milestone due to the dual-avatar format and the scale of engagement achieved. The Reddit post discussing the event also mentioned Neuro-sama, an English AI Vtuber popular on platforms like Twitch and BiliBili, with 761,000 followers, as a comparative example, though this is a separate case and not directly related to the Chinese livestream.

Public and Expert Reactions

The Baidu X post, shared on June 17, 2025, at 14:30 UTC, received significant attention, with replies ranging from excitement about the innovation to concerns about the blurring line between real and AI-generated content. For instance, one reply noted, “Trying to determine what is real and what is not will soon become the world’s biggest challenge,” reflecting broader societal implications. Another reply emphasized the shift from “hire a face” to “train a face,” suggesting that brands may focus on fine-tuning AI models for their catalogs and audience segments rather than relying on influencer contracts.

Viewer awareness was also raised, with a question in the replies asking, “Were viewers aware that they were interacting with AI avatars during the livestream?” This highlights potential ethical considerations, such as transparency in AI usage, which may become more critical as adoption grows.

Currency Conversion and Verification

To verify the sales figure, the exchange rate from CNY to USD was checked using a currency converter on June 19, 2025, at 14:59 UTC, which showed 1 CNY = 0.13913022 USD. Converting 55,000,000 CNY resulted in approximately $7,652,162.1 USD, confirming the figure exceeds $7 million as stated by the user. This conversion was based on mid-market rates for informational purposes, as noted in the currency converter, and may vary slightly with bank rates or other factors.

Summary Table of Key Metrics

Metric	Value	Source
Livestream Duration	6+ hours	Baidu X post, TheRundown.ai
Viewers Reached	13M+	Baidu X post, TheRundown.ai
Sales (RMB)	55M+	Baidu X post
Sales (USD, approx.)	$7.65M	Calculated using Xe rate on 6/19/25
Products Promoted	133	Reply to Baidu X post
Cost Reduction Potential	Up to 80%	TheRundown.ai
Transaction Increase	62% on average	TheRundown.ai
Digital Humans in Sector	Over 100k	TheRundown.ai
Sector Value	$946B	TheRundown.ai

Conclusion and Future Implications

This event demonstrates that AI avatars can be highly effective influencers, particularly in e-commerce livestreaming, with the potential to outperform human hosts in sales generation and cost efficiency. However, the long-term impact on the influencer industry, viewer trust, and ethical considerations remains an area for further research. The success of this livestream, with over $7 million in sales and 13 million viewers, suggests a shift toward AI-driven marketing, but it also raises questions about transparency and the human element in digital interactions.

As China’s live commerce sector continues to grow, events like this may set precedents for global adoption, with brands potentially prioritizing AI models over traditional influencers. The detailed metrics and reactions provide a robust foundation for understanding this trend, and future studies may explore viewer preferences, regulatory frameworks, and the scalability of AI avatars in other markets.

Key Citations

• AI avatars outsell humans in 6-hour livestream

• Baidu Inc. livestream event X post

• AI avatars in China better influencers Reddit post

• Xe currency converter CNY to USD

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