Virtual idols and AI actors are stepping out of dramas and into real-world commercial campaigns, complete with backstories and social media personas, though the trend has already sparked online discussions over blurry boundaries and marketing controversies.
AI Actors Secure Independent Castings and Separate Public Profiles
Production companies are pushing artificial intelligence past background generation and into leading roles with standalone identities. On October 12, Mango TV announced the debut of five AI artists: Cheng Du, Fang Yu, Lin Enna, Qi Xu, and Zhan Yan. The group stars in the AI-driven drama series Great Job, Friend, which premiered on October 14, portraying a former youth judo champion returning to the ring to fund his brother’s surgery, as reported by domestic media.
Behind the scenes, these virtual performers are given elaborate backgrounds that sometimes diverge from their scripted roles. Cheng Du, who plays a talented judo athlete, is packaged as an outdoor sports enthusiast in real life. Meanwhile, Fang Yu is portrayed off-screen as a sunny, cheerful young man despite playing a restrained, tight-lipped character in the series. All five have established independent social media profiles on Weibo.
Viral Short-Form Characters Transition Into Standalone Influencers
Virtual performers are also breaking out of serialized fiction to build independent digital careers. The AI-generated character Fang Taozi gained widespread traction following the June release of the short-form drama The Laid-Off Girl, which accumulated more than 2.5亿次 total views. Production teams quickly established dedicated social media accounts for the persona, transforming her into a digital influencer.
Fang Taozi’s online presence maintains her scripted profile as a 20-year-old, 173-centimeter-tall young woman who moved from a small town to a major metropolis. In her video posts, the character describes herself as an Aries “birthed” on April 1 with an ESFP personality type, routinely sharing morning runs, meals, and hand-dance routines. Her Douyin follower count has surpassed 500,000, with related hashtag views exceeding 1.3亿次, and she has appeared on the digital cover of Cosmopolitan. Similar practices have emerged in other digital productions, including Runaway Sisters, Trapped in a Book!, which opened individual accounts for four main characters to share rehearsal footage and wardrobe changes.
Virtual Personas Face Scrutiny Over Endorsements and Manufactured Scandals
As virtual stars adopt the operational models of human celebrities, they face identical public scrutiny alongside unique technological hurdles. Online commentators frequently note visual similarities between AI figures and real-world entertainers, comparing Fang Taozi to Japanese actress Nana Komatsu and members of South Korean girl groups NewJeans and aespa, while Mango TV’s Qi Xu has been likened to actors Xiao Zhan and Song Weilong.
Managing the public image of a computer-generated persona has also generated confusion. Fang Taozi faced public backlash after endorsing a colored contact lens brand, appearing in a first-person promotional video to claim the lenses were comfortable and featured an anti-spin design that stayed fixed during blinks. Viewers questioned how a virtual entity with artificial eyes could evaluate contact lenses, prompting the removal of the advertisement. In a separate incident on October 12, the official account for the virtual girl group BABYQUEEN announced that member Mity was pausing her entertainment activities due to “pregnancy,” accompanied by a lengthy apology post written from the character’s perspective. The account operator later clarified that the announcement was an inappropriate excuse used to manage the difficulty of running multiple digital characters simultaneously.
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