With AI progressing at lightning speed, Douyin’s AI Avatar has emerged as a business game-changer for companies aiming to enhance efficiency and user experience. This article is aimed at international brands, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and content creators seeking to improve interaction efficiency in the Chinese market through AI-driven solutions. Since its launch on the Douyin Open Platform, AI Avatar has been updated continuously to allow businesses and content creators to experience AI-based experiences in different interactive modes like short videos, live streams, private chat, group conversations, and search. According to Douyin’s official data, AI Avatars saw a 200% year-on-year increase in average daily interactions in 2023, with adoption spanning over 50 industries—from retail and automotive to healthcare and education.

As AI Avatars continue to evolve, companies are increasingly integrating them into business, minimizing expenditure while maximizing customer engagement. Let’s find out how companies are leveraging the technology.

1. The Growing Adoption of Douyin AI Avatar

Douyin AI Avatar is a sophisticated AI-based assistant for content creators and businesses. It mimics human interaction through speech patterns, personality, and knowledge bases, enabling brands to deliver seamless user experiences across industries:

• Retail:

Xiaomi Store uses AI Avatars to answer customer queries in real-time, providing product details and troubleshooting. This integration reduced human workload by 40% while boosting interaction rates.

• Food & Beverage:

HeyTea deploys AI Avatars to handle inquiries about promotions, new flavors, and order tracking. Personalized responses drove a 25% increase in repeat orders.

• Automotive:

NIO Electric Cars leverages AI Avatars to offer tailored vehicle recommendations based on user preferences (e.g., price range, battery life). This strategy improved lead conversion by 30%.

• Real Estate:

Beijing Real Estate Hub uses AI Avatars to guide customers through property listings and financing options, converting 15% of online inquiries into offline sales.

• Education:

New Oriental (新东方) implemented AI Avatars to answer course inquiries and provide learning plans. The virtual assistants reduced response time from 24 hours to 2 minutes, increasing enrollment conversion rates by 35%.

Key benefits of AI Avatar are:

24/7 Automated Support – AI Avatars respond immediately to customer queries, providing round-the-clock support.

Highly Personalised Interactions – They remember conversation context, providing more natural and meaningful responses.

Seamless Lead Conversion – AI Avatars are integrated with transaction tools, enhancing conversion and business growth.

2. How Businesses are Maximising Douyin AI Avatar for Growth

Douyin AI Avatars are transforming audience interaction and commercial strategies. Businesses apply them in unique ways to maximize efficiency and customer satisfaction.

AI Avatars in Live Streaming

Live streaming is the top driver of sales and interaction on Douyin (To comply with the rules of Tiktok live broadcast, AI virtual people need to clearly mark ‘non-real interaction’ to avoid violations). AI Avatars supplement human hosts by engaging in viewer comments, lowering the workload and increasing interaction. For instance, beauty products use AI Avatars to provide personalized suggestions for skincare and makeup products based on user input, ensuring higher conversion rates.

Case Study:

A Chinese beauty brand integrated AI Avatars into its live streams to handle real-time Q&A about product ingredients and skin compatibility. Results included:

• 50% increase in comment interaction rate (users actively replying to AI responses).
• 25% GMV growth during live sessions, driven by AI-recommended product bundles.
• 30% reduction in host workload, allowing human hosts to focus on storytelling.

How It Works:

AI Avatars analyze viewer questions (e.g., “Is this serum safe for sensitive skin?”), then generate instant answers with product links. They also push personalized upsell suggestions (e.g., “Pair with our calming moisturizer for 20% off”).

AI Avatars in Customer Engagement

Besides live interaction, AI Avatars play a key role in private messages and group chats. They help businesses keep customer communities alive by determining key points of conversation and responding in a way that maintains interaction levels.

For example, @Nike China uses AI Avatars in one-on-one chat to guide users through sneaker drops, offering product information, stock status, and buy links in chat. The Avatars automatically push purchase links based on user queries (e.g., “Show available sizes for Air Jordan 12 Retro”), while providing real-time stock updates and styling tips. During a limited-edition release, AI-driven link automation reduced sell-out time from 2 hours to just 30 minutes, with 90% of purchases completed via chat.

AI Avatars in Search and Discovery

Since people actively search for products and content on Douyin, AI Avatars assist in offering personalized search results. If users search for ‘best gaming smartphones,’ AI Avatars of technology companies respond with personalized suggestions and comparison data.

Not only does it improve user experience, but it also maximizes lead generation since companies can easily push the potential customer through the sales funnel.

3. Douyin’s Open Platform: Driving AI Innovation

The Douyin Open Platform is instrumental in shaping AI Avatar’s capabilities, enabling companies to utilize AI technology to the maximum. The key advantages are:

Brand Consistency – AI Avatars inherit and carry the tone and voice of the brand, offering a consistent presence.

Increased Monetisation Tools – AI Avatars come with commerce tools like group buying, direct selling, and mini-programs, ensuring seamless transactions.

Smart Data Utilisation – AI Avatars can leverage audience behavior insights to supercharge interactions and improve targeting.

Cross-Industry Implementability – Douyin’s AI Avatar framework enables cross-industry implementation with 70% lower R&D costs compared to custom solutions, slashing development time from 4-6 months to under 30 days. For instance, healthcare providers adapted retail-focused AI Avatars for patient Q&A in just 6 weeks, while educational institutions built virtual tutors at 65% reduced costs. This scalable approach allows brands across sectors to deploy AI-driven interactions rapidly and cost-effectively.

As AI Avatars continue to evolve, they are no longer just a futuristic concept but a powerful tool for businesses to streamline operations, engage customers, and enhance efficiency. With Douyin’s Open Platform, companies can integrate AI-driven interactions to boost engagement, drive sales, and reduce operational costs, setting a new standard for digital customer experiences in China.

At Charlesworth, we specialise in helping global brands navigate and grow in China’s fast-evolving digital landscape. From Douyin to WeChat, Xiaohongshu, and Weibo, we provide strategic marketing solutions that leverage AI-powered interactions, social commerce, and data-driven engagement. Our expertise ensures that brands not only establish a strong presence on China’s leading social platforms but also achieve meaningful connections and measurable results.

If your brand is looking to expand in China and maximise the potential of AI-driven marketing, we’d love to help you craft a winning strategy. Let’s connect and explore how Charlesworth can elevate your business in China’s digital ecosystem.