By 2025, AI marketing in China has entered a phase of rapid growth. The market expanded from 20.9 billion RMB in 2020 to 53 billion RMB in 2024 and is projected to surpass 132 billion RMB by 2029.
This surge demonstrates more than just the rising value of the industry. It highlights how AI has become the core driving force behind advertising and marketing. It also signals that brands must rethink how to integrate AI across the entire value chain, from creative development and content distribution to media placement.
For China, the world’s fastest-growing consumer market, embracing AI marketing is no longer optional. It has become a strategic imperative.
AI Marketing in China Reshaping Creative Production
Creativity was once regarded as the most irreplaceable human capability in marketing. With the rise of large models such as ChatGPT, MidJourney, and Keling AI, the way creative content is produced is being fundamentally transformed.
Traditionally, marketers had to brief designers and wait for rounds of feedback before moving forward. Today, an AI-driven workflow allows marketers to generate assets directly through prompts, while model trainers fine-tune the models. The result is rapid creative output that significantly shortens the journey from concept to execution. This represents a qualitative leap in marketing efficiency.
AI Marketing in China Driving Co-Creation and Social Amplification
The true value of AI lies not only in improving creative efficiency but also in empowering consumer participation. Ele.me’s Mother’s Day campaign offers a clear example. Working with an AIGC team, the brand launched a challenge that encouraged users to co-create content. The campaign generated more than 780,000 submissions and exceeded 2.6 billion views.
This model shows that when brands introduce AI tools at the strategy stage, the barriers to user-generated content are lowered, engagement is amplified, and content spreads faster across communities.
Expanding AI Marketing in China Through Video and Livestreaming
Video and livestreaming are becoming some of the hottest areas of AI marketing in China. In 2024, JD.com’s Richard Liu made his debut through a digital-human livestream that generated 50 million RMB in GMV, proving the commercial potential of virtual hosts. Compared with human livestreamers, digital humans bring clear advantages in cost efficiency, consistency, and brand tone alignment.
AI video-generation tools such as PixVerse, Keling, and Vidu are also evolving quickly. They enable brands to produce video content within days, a process that once took weeks. Beyond reducing costs, they open the door to new forms of creative storytelling.
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AI Enhancing Precision Advertising
Media buying is the stage where AI delivers some of its most transformative impact. In 2024, Tencent Ads introduced a large-model delivery system that improved user behavior prediction and ad distribution. During the Double 11 Shopping Festival, the system reduced customer acquisition costs by 25 percent and increased conversion rates by 35 percent.
Similar innovations have been adopted by Meta and Kuaishou, where AI engines optimize ad performance for smarter and more personalized conversions. As algorithms continue to evolve, China’s advertising market is entering a new era fully powered by AI.
Integrating Marketing and Operations with AI
AI is no longer just a tool. It is reshaping the entire industry value chain. Under this model, advertising is moving away from traditional time-based billing and shifting toward a value system based on the volume of effective content.
This shift enables brands to produce personalized assets at scale, while platforms and service providers capture shared value in the process. The result is not a zero-sum competition but a restructuring of industry value that unlocks growth opportunities for all stakeholders.
Connect with STAiiRS
By 2025, AI has become an indispensable strategic resource in China’s marketing landscape. From creativity to content, from distribution to media placement, AI is reshaping how brands engage with consumers at unprecedented speed. In the future, only brands that truly understand and harness AI will stand out in an increasingly competitive market. AI marketing in China is no longer a choice. It is the essential course for entering the new era of business.
With years of deep expertise and market insight in China, STAiiRS empowers brands to capture every opportunity that AI marketing offers. The time to act is now. Partner with STAiiRS and win in China’s dynamic market together.
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