Chinese Users Report Little Income From Licensing Their Faces to AI

Summary

Chinese users who licensed their likenesses through domestic platforms for use in AI-generated short dramas, livestreams, and advertisements say they have received few or no requests and almost no income. Platforms including NCAIGC, Mirafans, and ActID began appearing around May as AI-generated ultrashort dramas expanded; Chinese officials said more than 90% of the 430,000 ultrashort dramas released during the first eight months of 2026 were AI-generated. The platforms promoted low barriers and high returns, including a widely circulated claim that users could earn nearly 2,500 yuan in three days. In the usual process, users complete real-name authentication, upload photos, set a per-use price, and specify permitted roles or scenarios. Buyers can request single-use or project-based authorization, while platforms take about 30% of payments. Regular users may receive roughly 100 yuan per short video, some platforms set a 500-yuan minimum, and professional actors may reportedly receive up to 10,000 yuan. Model Wang Jinlin said ActID listings offered 500 to 1,000 yuan for commercial use, but no studio had selected her likeness since she joined in May. Industry participants said companies mainly seek celebrities and short-drama influencers because demand for ordinary people’s likenesses remains limited. ActID’s founder described the service as an opportunity to be discovered, rather than a guarantee of monetization. Some users also view registration as a way to document and protect their portrait data. Separately, Beijing’s market regulator warned that criminals scrape selfies, videos, and voices from social platforms to create AI avatars and cloned voices for commercial and livestream use, leaving uncertainty over how ordinary people can protect their portrait and voice rights.