China's livestream commerce sector is showing falling host incomes alongside industry growth: the country has about 38.8 million professional hosts, nearly half quit within a year, and mid-tier hosts in Hangzhou now average under ¥20,000 a month, with some vertical-category hosts dropping from ¥25,000–50,000 to ¥15,000–20,000. Meanwhile digital-human software costs ¥800–4,000 a month, JD says AI livestreaming costs about 10% of a human host, and penetration exceeds 60% in standardised categories such as 3C and household goods. The article argues digital humans mostly fill gaps — late-night slots and scripted product explanations — but cannot supply trust, so top hosts and niche deep-content hosts have not been broadly replaced. On regulation, the Beijing Consumers Association and eight platforms including JD, Douyin and Kuaishou signed a commitment in December 2025, and measures effective February 2026 require livestreams to disclose AI-generated presenters.

Douyin·JD.com·Kuaishou·+1