Baidu debuts dual AI avatar livestream with China's top host

Luo Yonghao, one of China's most famous live shopping personalities, just sent his digital twin to work on Baidu's e-commerce platform.

A dynamic duo of AI avatars

Unlike traditional virtual streamers that read scripted monologues solo, Baidu staged the industry's first dual-avatar live shopping stream powered by its ERNIE foundation model.

Two digital avatars served as co-hosts, reacting, talking, and riffing off each other in real time. The marathon stream ran for over six hours, generating more than 13 million views, delivering 97,000 characters of product descriptions, and pulling in over 55 million RMB in gross merchandise value.

Why it matters

Most AI avatars in retail feel robotic and easy to scroll past. Baidu's move turns virtual streaming into an interactive dialogue, essentially recreating the natural chemistry of two human hosts without the payroll overhead.

For merchants, this model shows a path toward scaling top-tier influencer presence around the clock. That said, it looks like novelty played a big part in driving those opening numbers, and it remains to be seen whether buyers will stick around once the novelty of talking clones wears off.