China’s AI Boom creates new marketplace to rent human faces - Rest of World

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By Kinling Lo and Viola Zhou

27 July 2026

Over 95% of the microdramas released in China in the first three months of 2026 used AI in their production.<br>The city-level Guangzhou Internet Court has heard approximately 700 AI-related face-theft cases over the past three years.<br>Proponents say the platforms give people more control over their likeness, but experts warn they cannot eliminate the long-term risks of AI misuse and biometric data exploitation.

The artificial intelligence boom has created a new marketplace in China where people can rent out their faces.

A growing number of online platforms are paying people anywhere between $15 and $700 to license their likeness for AI-generated content. The platforms have created catalogs of images — either uploaded by users or taken at designated studios — where producers can browse faces by gender, age, or category such as “girl-next-door,” “rugged,” or “supermodel.” They can also filter candidates based on the genre they are casting, whether it’s a thriller, comedy, or romance.

Users can choose what products or settings their faces can appear in — from television commercials and video games to short-form dramas — and set their own prices based on the type of face, permitted uses, and the number of productions it can appear in.

“Whether actors and models choose to license their faces on our platform or not, AI has already disrupted the industry,”  Long Lyu, the operations lead at AI-image rights platform New Claw, told Rest of World. “Selling the rights to their photos gives them a way to earn, while continuing their careers offline.”

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Rise of AI in content

AI-generated videos and images have sparked concerns about intellectual-property violations. In the U.S., disputes have largely centered on celebrities, with actors such as Tom Hanks and Scarlett Johansson warning about unauthorized AI versions of themselves.

In China, the challenges have long gone beyond public figures. Ordinary people are increasingly discovering their own faces starring in AI-generated dramas they never agreed to appear in.

Over 95% of the total 128,000 microdramas released in China in the first three months of this year used AI in the production. Microdramas are ultrashort, vertical-format video series designed for mobile phones. These videos are a multibillion-dollar industry in China.

ByteDance’s AI drama platform Hongguo was accused by two influencers of stealing and altering their faces using AI without their consent. The Chinese minidrama, which earned more than 40 million views, was taken down. ByteDance, which also owns Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok,  has also removed more than 85,000 videos involving unauthorized AI-generated reproduction of people’s faces and voices since the beginning of 2026.

ActID, a platform that facilitates the sale and purchase of licensed imagery, helps its users manage licensing agreements while monitoring the internet for unauthorized use of registered faces. The company also connects users with lawyers who can pursue legal action when necessary.

Producers want attractive faces for lead roles, but they also need distinctive ones like elderly people."Camille Yan, chief marketing officer, ActID

Since launching in March, the Shenzhen-based company has registered around 800 users, about 300 of whom have agreed to license their image to AI production. They include professional extras, influencers and ordinary people with no acting experience.

So far, two AI drama productions have licensed around 10 faces through ActID, the company told Rest of World. Prices range from 99 to 500 yuan ($15 to $74) per episode, with ActID taking a 10% commission.

“Producers want attractive faces for lead roles, but they also need distinctive ones like elderly people, for example,” Camille Yan, ActID’s chief marketing officer, told Rest of World. AI-generated dramas “don’t require acting ability anyway; [the faces] serve as source materials.”

Chengdu-based New Claw pivoted to this business after its earlier operation as a production house was dramatically disrupted due to AI.

“Since late last year, it was really obvious how the rise of AI dramas really has an impact on our industry,” Lyu said. “Traditional drama production declined, advertising budgets shrank, and even luxury brands started shifting toward AI-generated productions.”

Lyu said licensing a person’s face is cheaper than hiring them to perform in person. The platform has imposed a minimum price of 500 yuan ($74) per image to prevent users from undercutting one another and driving prices down.

Using real people’s faces could bring more diversity into AI dramas. On social media, viewers have complained that many AI-generated characters look alike. ByteDance’s Hongguo announced in July that it would crack down on dramas featuring homogeneous...