Driven by the current wave of digitalization, artificial intelligence (AI) technology is gradually changing our lives and work styles, especially in the field of e-commerce. Recently, social media giant Tuke has demonstrated a new direction in this trend:developing virtual influencers for livestream selling.

Tuke is developing virtual influencers for ad transactions. Image source: mediapost

1

Virtual Influencers: Unlimited Potential and Application Prospects

Although Tuke's virtual influencer project is still in the development stage, its potential should not be underestimated. These AI-driven digital characters can not only generate video scripts tailored to advertisers' needs, but also appear in videos, bringing brands a brand-new promotional image.

Compared to traditional real-life influencers, virtual influencers have a variety of unique advantages, including being free from physical limitations and time constraints, enabling 24/7 uninterrupted livestreams, greatly extending interaction time with viewers, which may increase watch time and boost sales.

Furthermore, virtual influencers can quickly adjust their appearance and style according to market demand. This high degree of customization allows brands to flexibly deploy marketing strategies targeting different cultures and market dynamics.

For example, a virtual influencer targeting young and fashionable audiences can present appearances and languages that match local pop culture in different countries—a flexibility that traditional influencers find hard to match.

2

Challenges and Market Acceptance

Although virtual influencers may have a vast market, the promotion and application of virtual influencer technology also face many challenges.

First, from a technical perspective, creating virtual characters that consumers can empathize with requires highly complex AI algorithms and image processing technologies to ensure their behaviors and reactions are as natural and engaging as possible.

Second, limitations in emotional expression and deep interpersonal communication for virtual influencers may affect consumer acceptance and brand conversion rates. After all, there are still differences between virtual humans and real people.

In addition, the popularity of virtual influencers may also trigger discussions about employment and ethics.

On one hand, the ability of virtual influencers to work around the clock may, to some extent, replace traditional content creators, leading to a redistribution of job opportunities within the industry. On the other hand, the use of virtual identities has also sparked discussions about digital human rights and control over virtual images.

3

The Future of Tuke and AI E-commerce

Tuke's attempt in the AI and e-commerce field is just a microcosm of global e-commerce giants exploring the potential of AI technology. From the AI chatbot "Tako" to highly personalized shopping experiences, AI technology is reshaping the future of the e-commerce industry at an unprecedented speed. According to current trends, future e-commerce platforms will rely more on AI technology to optimize operations, enhance user experience, and ultimately achieve sales growth.

For Tuke, virtual influencers are not only a showcase of technological innovation, but also a strategy to maintain its leading position in global competition. By continuously innovating, Tuke can attract more users and advertisers, and consolidate its position in the fiercely competitive social media market.

Moreover, ByteDance (Tuke's parent company) is already recruiting AI video generation researchers, aiming to develop more advanced "text-to-video" tools.

With further development and improvement of AI technology, we have reason to expect that virtual influencers will become an important force in the fields of e-commerce and content creation in the near future.

Despite potential concerns about replacing real people in jobs, the more ideal scenario is for AI technology to complement rather than replace human creators. The natural interaction and emotional communication between real people and consumers is something that current AI technology cannot fully replicate. This uniquely human interactive advantage may become the key to future collaboration between AI and humans in content creation and e-commerce.