On July 22, the topic "two AI actors are even more famous than the'waiting to explode' cast of Cbiz" rose to number 1 on the hot search chart of the social network Weibo (China).
The topic of discussion stems from the fact that the AI short film "The Dismissed Girl", made by the content creator using the LeapTV tool, suddenly caused a fever on Chinese social networks.
The two main characters Phuong Dao Tu and Chau Di Hanh are considered the "first generation of AI stars".
This modern office-based film has reached over 200 million views on one platform alone, while the private social media accounts of the two "AI actors" Phuong Dao Tu and Chau Di Hanh have attracted 333,000 and 113,000 followers respectively.
In just one day, the number of discussions about them across the network has exceeded 800 million, far exceeding the heat of many new faces in the Chinese entertainment industry who are heavily invested in promotional activities.
Not only existing in the film, the two characters also have independent social media accounts, post morning diaries, vlogs exploring restaurants like real people, and even interact according to the male lead publicly pursuing the female lead, creating a complete fan ecosystem and secondary creative content.
A video sharing the daily life of the character Dao Tu has received more than 217,000 likes.
The costumes of the characters in the film have also become a trend that a large number of netizens are imitating, opening up a closed chain of commercialization from content to product promotion. The work was also awarded the title "Best Original Urban AI Short Film" by the platform.
Unlike before, when the promotion of AI films mainly relied on clips from film content, this new operating model has broken the boundaries between characters and real life, helping virtual characters own independent personal accounts, update statuses and answer comments exactly like real artists.
Lam Khe, who works in the field of AI comics, said that this promotion method is becoming a new direction for AI short films: taking characters out of the story to interact with fans in daily life, thereby building an image of "virtual idols who can accompany".
According to the media, the fact that audiences love AI actors actually reflects the fatigue before the "running after idol artists" culture of the entertainment industry. What viewers pursue is no longer simply real people, but the attraction of characters and pure emotional values, not caring about the private lives of artists or being drawn into arguments between fan communities.
In the future, whether it's a virtual idol or a real actor, what can keep the audience is still a story enough to touch emotions and respect for professionalism.
The popularity of the two AI actors is causing the "artists waiting to explode" of the Chinese entertainment industry - which has to rely on massive promotion campaigns - to face an unprecedented blow. Forcing these artists to find new development directions, or improve their capabilities to be able to compete with increasingly comprehensive AI actors.
