Miaobo puts a digital human host on camera in a live shopping room: the merchant picks a product, prepares scripts and a Q&A library, and the AI host presents the item and answers audience questions without a human anchor on set.
Miaobo: handing the repetitive part of live selling to a digital human
What it is
Miaobo is an AI live commerce solution from Tencent Ads, built on a newer generation of photoreal digital human technology and combined with script generation and real-time reply. It gives advertisers and merchants 24/7 live streaming at a low marginal cost.
The problem it addresses is not how to make a flagship sale more spectacular. It is the duller one: a single product has to be described hundreds of times, viewers still trickle in at two in the morning, and nobody wants to pay an anchor for those hours. Miaobo's role is to absorb the long, repetitive presenting shift so the human team can concentrate on product selection, scripting and improvised selling.
Core capabilities
- Photoreal digital human host: appearance, facial expression and motion close enough to a real presenter to carry the on-camera role.
- Two scripting modes: AI generation drafts talking points from the product's selling points and price, while a custom mode accepts a word-for-word script for categories where phrasing must be exact.
- Real-time replies: questions from viewers are answered by drawing on the configured Q&A library and the product information.
- 24/7 streaming: no human standby required, which covers overnight and off-peak hours.
- Studio customization: avatar, voice, background music and on-screen elements can all be swapped; one room supports several overlays, text blocks and videos, with local upload for assets.
- Risk control: built-in filtering and rewriting of sensitive wording to reduce the chance of an on-air slip.
- Live management: performance data and a stop-broadcast control.
How to use it
- Get access. Miaobo is invitation-based; you register interest through the Tencent Ads Miaobo WeChat assistant. Self-service sign-up is open only to WeChat store merchants and Channels creators.
- Create a live room. Pick the product and maintain its details. Note that only single-product rooms are supported, so one session maps to one item.
- Decide the script. Use AI generation when speed matters, or write a word-for-word script when exact phrasing matters.
- Configure Q&A. Put your recurring questions into the library; during the stream the system pulls answers from there.
- Decorate the room. For test runs, start with a stock avatar; before a real broadcast, a custom avatar holding the product is the better choice. Pick from quality stock voices, audition them and adjust speaking rate, then choose background and music.
- Rehearse, then go live. Always rehearse first to confirm picture, sound, audio-visual sync and host interaction all behave, then start the public broadcast.
Where it fits
- Live commerce: especially where anchor costs are high or coverage of non-working hours matters.
- Product launches: continuous explanation that stretches the exposure window.
- Online education and training: the repeated delivery portion of a course.
- Brand and culture communication: brand story and company history content that can run for long stretches.
- Customer service: standard questions such as usage guidance and troubleshooting.
Limits to weigh first
- Invitation and eligibility: access is not open registration. Businesses outside WeChat store merchants and Channels creators have to go through the application route.
- Single product only: one item per session, so multi-category bundles are not possible today.
- A digital human is still not a person: improvising, building emotional momentum and negotiating complex offers remain human work. For high-stakes sessions, keep a person monitoring or ready to step in.
- Compliance stays with the merchant: filtering lowers risk, but whether the script itself is compliant is still your call.
- Setup has a real cost: avatar, voice, overlays and the Q&A library all need preparation, and the first build takes longer than expected.
In one line
If your product rewards repeated explanation and your broadcast hours are long, Miaobo can cut labor cost noticeably. If you sell high-ticket items that depend on an anchor's improvisation, treat it as a supporting role rather than the main act.
Frequently asked questions
Which merchants is Miaobo meant for?
It fits merchants already selling through WeChat stores or Channels live streams who want longer broadcast hours without paying an anchor by the hour. Miaobo is invitation-based, and self-service sign-up is limited to WeChat store merchants and Channels creators.
Will viewers notice the host is not a real person?
Tencent describes the hosts as photoreal, but how convincing they look depends on how well the avatar fits the setting. The safer path is to test with a stock avatar on low traffic, watch engagement and retention, and then decide whether a custom avatar is worth the investment.
How many products can one live room sell?
Only single-product live rooms are supported right now: one product per session. Selling several items means splitting into multiple sessions or using a human host.
