SHANGHAI — Chinese brands are racing to deploy AI livestream avatars as always-on hosts for short-video shopping, turning e-commerce into a 24/7 sales floor as retailers chase cheaper labor, faster content and tighter control over what gets said, Dec. 24, 2025.
On China’s biggest commerce feeds, the pitch is simple: AI livestream avatars don’t get tired, don’t ask for a raise and don’t go off-script. They can demo products through the night, answer common questions in real time and keep a brand’s “storefront” open long after human creators log off. That promise is showing up in corporate results and platform strategy, including multinational consumer-goods marketing built around livestreams and avatars.
Why AI livestream avatars are suddenly everywhere
Generative AI has made the new wave of AI livestream avatars look and sound more convincing than earlier “virtual anchors,” while large language models help them respond to comments without relying only on canned scripts. WIRED reported that some Chinese sellers are using “virtual human” salespeople to run nonstop broadcasts and lift sales on certain product lines, an approach that is spreading beyond early adopters as costs fall.
The scale is difficult to ignore. Sixth Tone reported that during the midyear “618” shopping festival, digital hosts ran livestreams for thousands of brands, highlighting how quickly automated presenters can be rolled out during peak retail moments.
What brands gain — and what they risk
For merchants, AI livestream avatars can standardize product claims, run A/B-tested scripts and fill dead hours when traffic is lower. Reuters recently described how influencers and AI-generated avatars in China are helping drive growth for Reckitt, which has leaned heavily into short-form video and livestream production to reach consumers.
But the “risky revolution” comes with downsides. Trust is fragile in livestream shopping, where viewers expect quick, human back-and-forth — and where mistakes can be clipped and reposted in seconds. Campaign Asia noted that while AI avatars can deliver scale and round-the-clock reach, brands still face questions about authenticity and audience confidence.
Then there are security and compliance worries. When an AI livestream avatar can be prompted by anyone in the comments, companies have to defend against trolling, manipulation and accidental claims that trigger returns, platform penalties or regulators’ attention. WIRED highlighted examples of misbehavior and vulnerabilities that can surface in live settings, pushing some sellers toward hybrid formats: humans for peak hours, avatars for the long tail.
A trend years in the making
Today’s AI livestream avatars didn’t appear overnight. Live commerce itself was already surging years ago, with brands and platforms betting that entertainment-driven shopping could reshape online retail. Forbes chronicled the boom in 2020, and Vogue reported the same year that virtual idols were becoming attractive to brands because they are controllable and “always available.” More recently, JD.com’s corporate blog described early virtual-anchor pilots, and Sixth Tone documented how AI hosts scaled during major shopping festivals.
What comes next
Expect more experimentation, not a clean takeover. In product categories where viewers want reassurance — beauty, health and premium goods — human hosts may remain the face of the stream, with AI livestream avatars handling overnight shifts, routine questions and rapid content production. Meanwhile, platform moves and retail competition keep raising the stakes, as seen in big-tech efforts to strengthen live-commerce ecosystems and tooling around AI.
For now, China’s livestream arena is becoming a proving ground for the next phase of shopping video — one where AI livestream avatars can sell without sleeping, and brands must decide how much automation their customers will tolerate.
