China, AI actor appears ahead of human value... 95% of short dramas produced by AI

In China, a short drama actor created by non-human artificial intelligence (AI) tools has become a more expensive advertising model than a real influencer. As AI has become a commercially successful 'star' beyond a tool to reduce production costs, the existing content production ecosystem is rapidly changing.

On the 9th, according to a comprehensive report from Chinese economic media outlets such as China Renaissance, the video ad unit price of 'Fang Taozhi,' a virtual actor and model registered on the Chinese advertising platform Xingtou, is 258,000 yuan (approximately 55 million KRW) for a 60-second ad. The commercial value of an AI actor has surpassed that of a real actor or influencer.

It is reported that this unit price is higher than that of some influencers with 10 million followers, as well as those with 1 million followers. Fang Taozhi, the main character of a Chinese AI short drama, has recently become an advertising model and is expanding his activity area as an independent commercial IP (Intellectual Property). He is the main character of the Chinese short drama 'The Fired Girl.'

Since his appearance, he has gained 412,000 followers on the Chinese video platform Douyin in less than two months. The drama exceeded 220 million views and 800 million online mentions as of last month, achieving a box office hit. The production company presented a model of 'AI star nurturing,' where the main character's character continues to be active in cyberspace, maintaining relationships with fans.

Although Fang Taozhi is a virtual character in the drama, he shares his daily life, including his home and work life, cooking, and time with his pet dog, on a separate social media account, communicating with fans like a real celebrity or influencer. Fang Taozhi emerged as the Chinese AI short drama industry rapidly grew. The rapid growth was driven by low production costs.

The production of one paid short drama featuring a real actor typically costs around 1.5 million yuan (approximately 310 million KRW), but it is known that about 110,000 yuan (approximately 23 million KRW) was spent on 'The Fired Girl.' In the Chinese content market, it is possible to create multiple AI works simultaneously with a similar amount of funding and test market reactions.

The market size is rapidly expanding. China Renaissance cited data from Datai, a data company, and reported that the Chinese AI short drama market size exceeded 22 billion yuan (approximately 4.642 trillion KRW) in the first half of this year and is expected to reach 40 billion yuan (approximately 8.44 trillion KRW) annually.

The Chinese short drama market size is expected to be 10 billion yuan this year, with AI short dramas accounting for 40% of the market. According to the China Internet Audio and Video Association, out of 128,000 new works in the first quarter, 122,000 were AI short dramas, accounting for over 95%. The existing live-action short drama production scene is shrinking.

Chinese local media reported that at major short drama production hubs such as Zhengzhou and Xi'an, production companies are rapidly shifting from live-action filming to AI-generated content, reducing work for filming locations and studios. In the past, some locations where filming teams gathered are now rarely visited, with cases of related businesses closing and a decrease in jobs for actors and filming staff.

Some actors who gained popularity through short dramas have been known to struggle financially, with some taking on jobs as delivery platform riders or vegetable sellers.