According to marketing analysis firm DataEye, it was reported that 89 of the top 100 anime and drama works on Douyin in May 2026 were AI-produced.
The China Netcasting Services Association announced that 95% of the approximately 128,000 short dramas released in China during the first quarter of 2026 were generated by AI. This scale is more than three times that of the entire previous year.
Dramatic changes are occurring at production sites. According to Professor Shen Yang of Tsinghua University, the production of a 3-to-5-minute drama, which required five people and three months in 2024, can now be completed by one person in one to two days through the use of AI. Zeelin Co., Ltd. released approximately 8,000 one-minute short drama episodes in May 2026 alone. Costs have also been reduced to about 10% of conventional levels.
Meanwhile, the impact on employment has also been pointed out.
NHK WORLD-JAPAN reported the case of content production company "Manghe," stating that AI drama production costs have been reduced to one-third and production time to one-fifth compared to live-action. In street interviews, an individual who previously worked as an extra stated that filming work has almost disappeared due to the influence of AI.
Changes are also occurring among actors.
Greg Wallner, a Beijing-based actor and producer, pointed out that the digitalization of drama production accelerated following the release of ByteDance's "Seedance 2.0." He noted that many of his friends have been forced to leave their workplaces.
Furthermore, cases have emerged where performers are forced to choose whether or not to consent to the creation of their AI replicas. One anonymous presenter revealed that they eventually agreed to terms consisting of a five-year contract, one year's salary, and the right of refusal.
Source: 中国におけるAIアニメ・ドラマが急増、中国版TikTokのDouyinでトップ100のアニメとドラマのうち89作品がAIによるもの (GIGAZINE, 2026-08-31)