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Chinese ‘Virtual Human’ Salespeople Are Outperforming Their Real Human Counterparts


Built using AI technology from Baidu and DeepSeek, the virtual livestreamers sell everything from wet wipes to printers 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“My friends, I’ve gotta plug this game-changing office tool that can double your workplace efficiency, ” the salesperson said during one recent broadcast, trying to achieve the delicate balance between friendliness and precision that has come to define the billion-dollar livestream ecommerce industry in China. In 2024, over one-third of all ecommerce sales in the country are estimated to have happened on livestreams, and one in two people has shopped while watching a broadcast, according to a report published by China International Electronic Commerce Center, a government-affiliated research institute. In June, Baidu, one of the largest tech companies in China, hosted a livestream session featuring an AI version of Luo Yonghao, an ecommerce influencer with millions of social media followers.

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