JD Ran a Variety Show With No Human Hosts
Digital avatars moved from reading scripts to carrying a storyline, and the cost of staying live around the clock fell with them.
JD’s Double 11 gala, streamed on 31 October 2026 and performed entirely by digital avatars, drew 60.96 million live viewers across six platforms, with related content reaching more than 180 million plays. Ten programmes were produced with 100 AI creators, staged inside a moving rendition of a classical Chinese scroll painting. JD said its JoyAvatar service has now worked with more than 100,000 merchants, generating over 1.3 billion yuan in sales and saving merchants more than 100 million yuan in costs during the first half of the promotion.
