There was a time when business leaders tended to come up with ideas and make big decisions from behind the scenes, but those days may be coming to an end. In the era of information and technology, these leaders are increasingly placing themselves front and center on screen, using the trendiest and most innovative methods to connect with consumers and build brand image.

Liu Qiangdong, founder and CEO of JD.com (JD), an e-commerce and logistics giant, also known as Richard Liu, is a case in point. On April 16, a digital avatar of Liu appeared as host in two livestreaming sessions on the company's platform selling daily groceries and electronics devices.

In one of the livestreams, targeted at sports fans looking forward to the UEFA Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Germany from June 14 to July 14, the avatar shared Liu's diet and sporting habits, and promoted products including high-definition TVs, air conditioners and mobile phones.

"These products will ensure you have a good experience watching the matches, wherever you are," the digital Liu said, also announcing over 100,000 yuan ($13,801) in discounts and prizes including a ticket to the UEFA Euro final in Berlin. "Thank you for watching my live broadcast, I hope I can see you again soon."

The digital Liu's livestream debut turned out to be a commercial success, with the combined viewership of its two livestreams rocketing to 20 million within an hour.

Hundreds of thousands of curious netizens posed questions to Liu about himself and JD's products. Comments included "Hey, can you say hi to me? You look so real!" "Will these products be even cheaper during the June 18 shopping festival?" and "I didn't catch the last batch of coupons, send more buddy." Some received direct response from the digital avatar.

Significant advantages

Digital avatar technology requires the combination of 3D modeling, motion capture devices and image processing software. Liu's avatar was generated using his image, movements and voice. Artificial intelligence (AI) and real-time synthesis technology are then used to animate the avatar to deliver either scripted or AI-generated content.

This widely discussed live broadcast was not JD's first attempt at digital human livestreaming. Last July, JD launched the Chat Rhino, a large language model tech product similar to the popular AI tool ChatGPT, to help businesses on its platform reduce their spending on livestreamers. Currently, many companies, including international brands and companies such as Estée Lauder, L'Oreal, and Procter & Gamble, are attempting to integrate virtual anchor services into their livestreaming events on JD's platform.

The digital Liu's livestream debut is part of a trend within China's e-commerce industry. According to a report released by the China Netcasting Services Association, in 2023, 71.2 percent of surveyed users purchased products while watching short videos or live broadcasts, and over 40 percent of surveyed users chose short videos or live broadcasts as their main consumption channels.

Further studies revealed the shift from traditional to digital livestreaming, which refers to the tendency to replace actual human beings with digitized avatars in broadcast rooms. A report published by iiMedia, a market research firm, said the overall market size and core market size, which includes the essential platforms, sellers and products, driven by digital avatars in China will reach 640.27 billion yuan ($88.37 billion) and 48.06 billion yuan ($6.63 billion), respectively, by 2025.

Industry insiders believe the use of avatars has shown obvious advantages, including in availability and cost effectiveness, over traditional livestream sales, and will be adopted by more online merchants, owing to their urgent need to reduce broadcasting costs.

"The digital Liu's livestreams are another innovative attempt by JD, indicating the company is actively exploring the AI Technology Plus Live-Commerce model," AI technology expert Guo Tao told newspaper Securities Daily. Live-commerce refers to a type of e-commerce where interactive live videos are used to attract customers and increase their purchase intention.

"With technological progress, digital humans are stepping continuously closer toward replacing human livestreamers. Given some time, they may be capable of holding onto the same user flows generated by human livestreamers," Guo added.

Many businesses have begun to try out digital livestreamers because of their low cost. A search for "digitized human broadcasting" on Taobao, the online shopping platform of another e-commerce giant Alibaba, reveals related services ranging in price from 19 to 299 yuan ($2.62-$41.26).

"We offer a whole-package service. We can customize the figure according to your specific requirements, and we can teach your staff how to use it. If there are any problems during use, we can fix them for you—but I can say for sure that 90 percent of our customers have never reported any problems," a customer service employee, surnamed Han, from one of the service providers, told Beijing Review.

A salient feature of digital livestreamers is that they can be available around the clock. "For example, some maternal and baby product businesses use digital livestreamers between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m., when human livestreamers usually aren't working but new parents are most active," Liang Xiaobo, head of Chat Rhino, told Securities Daily.

With the increasing use of AI technology in the livestreaming and e-commerce industries, some platforms are stepping up to regulate AI-generated content, including that of digital livestreamers.

In May 2023, Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, launched an initiative to set standards for AI-generated content on the platform. The initiative aimed to help raise awareness among users of issues including what constitutes infringing behavior and penalties for AI-generated false information and advertisements. The initiative also established dedicated channels for users to give feedback on AI-generated content.

Wider application

Alongside their use in e-commerce, digital avatars have also been applied in the communications and media field, with major media institutions now trying their hand at harnessing this emerging technology.

The Two Sessions, a colloquial term for the annual sessions of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the country's top political advisory body, are important political gatherings, usually taking place in March. This year, state broadcaster CCTV used a digital livestreamer to provide updates about the meetings and their participants. CCTV launched a livestream column called The Two Sessions C Plus, hosted by digital presenter Xiao C, making the serious topics discussed at the Two Sessions more relatable for young people, enhancing their interest in and understanding of the events.

The team at China.org.cn, a website operated by China International Communications Group, has created two digital avatars derived from their English-language reporter Sun Wanlu and Editor in Chief Wang Xiaohui. These avatars are serving as multilingual hosts for the website's video content.

"Sun and Wang used to work in English only, but now, their avatars broadcast in multiple languages, greatly reducing costs and improving our efficiency," Zhao Xuan, head of the Digital Transformation and Innovation Department of China.org.cn, told Beijing Review. She added that the innovative broadcasts have been well-received overseas, with one of the videos about the Third Belt and Road Initiative Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing last October, broadcast by digital avatars in three languages, raking in 600,000 views on Facebook, and have inspired colleague's ideas for future content.

Zhao believes the use of avatars may trigger new forms of cooperation between national and local media platforms.

"We are working with a local media center from Tangshan, Hebei Province, on a cultural activity," Zhao elaborated. "In the past, we would have needed to send our reporters of different languages over to Tangshan in person for interviews and to broadcast, but now, our partners in Tangshan can provide the images, news and videos we ask for, and we can place our digital reporters in the virtual setting to broadcast the news in multiple languages."

"We have encountered technical problems concerning languages other than English and Chinese—the two most frequently used languages in China, as there's not enough training data to base them on," Zhao said. "And this can lead to problems like unnatural facial expressions during broadcasts in other languages. In this case, audiences may question the news's authenticity."

In addition, Zhao feels obligated to respect the rights of her colleagues who ventured to be "digitized."

"We asked for their agreement on this, and we take into consideration their privacy and portrait right, and ask for their permission every time we use their images. This is an important standard in this field," Zhao added.

Copyedited by G.P. Wilson

Comments to zhangyage@cicgamericas.com