TikTok tests a new option for brands to deploy virtual influencers

TikTok could enable brands to generate AI influencers, to present products on their behalf via videos and live-shopping within the app.

This development comes as no surprise, as Douyin, the Chinese version of the application, already hosts a wide range of virtual influencers. Able to broadcast 24/7, sometimes selling thousands of dollars worth of merchandise every day, AI hosts have become extremely popular on the Chinese market.

Virtual influencers now highly profitable

According to MIT Technology Review: "Since 2022, a host of Chinese startups and major technology companies have been offering the service of creating deepfake avatars for e-commerce livestreaming. " In just a few minutes and for amounts approaching $1,000, brands can clone a human streamer. "Once created, all that remains is to generate a precise script that the AI clones will follow to the letter. "Now, all companies have to do is enter basic information such as the name and price of the product being sold, read back the generated script and watch the virtual influencer go live." A more advanced version of the technology can even spot live comments and find corresponding responses in its database to reply in real time, so it appears that the AI Streamer is actively communicating with the audience. The most sophisticated models, meanwhile, can adjust their marketing strategy according to the number of viewers.

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Will Western audiences be receptive?

On Douyin, live purchases are now the main source of revenue. TikTok has also been working on a series of initiatives to implement the same process. But while virtual influencers are all the rage in China, initial tests in the West have not proved conclusive. AI-created avatars generated fewer sales than human influencers. But it would take more than that to discourage the Chinese giant. The company plans to implement this option in TikTok Shop (available in several Asian countries and in the United States). This is hardly surprising, given the profits the company stands to make. Indeed, while in 2023, TikTok recorded around $3.8 billion in "consumer" spending on the app (the majority of which relates to gifts sent to creators during live performances), in China, spending on the Douyin app is approaching $270 billion. According to experts, to adapt to Western consumer habits, the platform could offer its new functionality as a complement to influencers rather than replacing them.

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