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iResearch Consulting Group (艾瑞咨询) is a leading Chinese third-party market research and consulting firm headquartered in Beijing, founded in 2002, that has become one of the most frequently cited industry observers of China's digital human (数字人) sector. Operating through its core consultancy alongside the data and intelligence sub-brand iResearch Smart (艾瑞数智) and its content portal iResearch.com (艾瑞网), the firm produces a continuous stream of white papers, vendor assessments, and market sizing studies that shape public, corporate, and investor understanding of virtual humans in China. Its digital human research portfolio spans the 2022 China Virtual Idol Industry Research Report, the China Virtual Streamer Industry Ecosystem Research Report, the 2024 China Virtual Digital Human Industry Development White Paper which valued the digital-human-driven market at 333.47 billion yuan in 2023 with a forecast of 640.27 billion yuan by 2025, the 2024 China AI Digital Human Industry Development Report, the 2024 China Digital Culture Space Development Research Report covering XR guides and digital human heritage interpretation, the 2022 China Conversational AI Industry Development White Paper, the China Chatbot Industry Development Research Report, and most recently the April 2026 Digital Human E-Commerce Livestreaming White Paper co-released with JD.com, which reframes digital human livestreaming as a scalable new quality productive force and forecasts a transition from labor-intensive operations toward an Agent intelligent body era surpassing human anchors. Adjacent reports on AIGC scenarios, AI smart interactive eyewear, online recruitment with AI virtual interviewers, the red influencer economy, and live commerce extend coverage across the full application stack from technology suppliers to commercial deployment. iResearch figures are routinely cited by Xinhua, People's Daily, CBNData, Yicai, Sohu, Tencent News, and provincial government documents including Jiangsu's 2026–2028 AI plus Cultural Tourism Action Plan, giving the firm disproportionate authority over how the virtual human market is measured, segmented, and projected within mainland China.
2026 Digital Human E-Commerce Livestreaming White Paper (2026数字人电商直播白皮书), April 22, 2026, co-released with JD.com — positions digital human livestreaming as a scalable new quality productive force and forecasts a transition toward an Agent intelligent body era surpassing human anchors.
2026 AI Search Traffic and GEO Industry Development White Paper (2026年AI搜索流量与GEO产业发展白皮书), 2026, co-released with the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology — covers AI digital human short-video matrixes as part of broader generative engine optimization content transformation.
2025 China Private Domain E-Commerce Industry Trend White Paper (2025年中国私域电商行业趋势白皮书), 2025 — defines AI digital human livestreaming and intelligent guided shopping as core advantages of premium private domain platforms.
AI Smart Interactive Eyewear Industry Insight Report (AI智能交互眼镜产业洞察报告), January 2025 — links smart eyewear policy support to broader digital human industry innovation across consumer interaction scenarios.
2024 China AI Digital Human Industry Development Status Report (2024年中国AI数字人行业发展状况), November 2024 — surveys enterprise AI digital human deployment patterns, integration rates, and user behavior across Chinese companies.
2024 China Digital Culture Space Development Research Report (2024年中国数字文化空间发展研究报告), October 2024 — maps digital human interpreters and XR guides into cultural tourism, digital performance, and cloud tourism scenarios.
2024 AIGC Plus Education Industry Report (2024年AIGC+教育行业报告), August 2024 — addresses digital human teachers and AI tutors within AIGC education applications.
2023 China Artificial Intelligence Industry Research Report VI (2023年中国人工智能产业研究报告VI), April 2024 — positions virtual digital humans as a vertical breakthrough within China's AI industry value chain.
2023 China Live Commerce Industry Research Report (2023年中国直播电商行业研究报告), February 2024 — documents digital human anchors as a core supply-side variable in live commerce digitalization, with the Qianxun case study.
2023 AIGC Scenario Application Outlook Research Report (2023年AIGC场景应用展望研究报告), January 2024 — forecasts AIGC investment hotspots including AI directors and digital human commercial deployments.
2023 China Live Commerce Quick Insights column (数字人直播热度未减，真人模仿AI也火了), December 2023 — tracks digital human livestreaming heat alongside real-person AI imitation trends.
2023 China Online Recruitment Market Development Research Report (2023年中国网络招聘市场发展研究报告), 2023 — covers AI virtual digital human interviewer adoption and one-on-one mock interview applications.
China Influencer New Economy Industry Development Report (中国红人新经济行业发展报告), August 2023 — profiles digital human intellectual property and personal-room virtual avatar customization within fan economy monetization.
China Virtual Streamer Industry Ecosystem Research Report (中国虚拟主播行业生态研究报告), October 2022 — profiles the virtual streamer ecosystem in China with investment heatmaps and content business analysis.
2022 China Artificial Intelligence Industry Research Report V (2022年中国人工智能产业研究报告V), March 2023 — includes virtual digital humans as a key breakthrough point alongside pretrained large models and AI chips.
2022 China Virtual Idol Industry Research Report (2022年中国虚拟偶像行业研究报告), 2022 — covers virtual singers, virtual UP hosts, and virtual bloggers across advertising, livestream, performance, and endorsement monetization channels.
2022 China Conversational AI Industry Development White Paper (2022年中国对话式AI行业发展白皮书), March 2022 — defines digital humans as an evolutionary upgrade of conversational AI product form and notes the absence of mature industry standards.
2022 Mobile Application Trends Insight White Paper (2022年移动应用趋势洞察白皮书), March 2022, co-released with the Huawei Developer Alliance — surveys mobile applications including virtual digital human services across the app ecosystem.
China Chatbot Industry Development Research Report (中国对话机器人chatbot行业发展研究报告), August 2021 — introduces multimodal digital humans as the next evolutionary leap for chatbot product forms in financial customer service.
2021 China Live Commerce Industry Research Report (2021年中国直播电商行业研究报告), September 2021 — early treatment of digital human anchors within live commerce supply chain evolution.