Artificial intelligence has come to dominate the production of microdramas in China on a scale that is already beginning to pressure the sector. More than 90% of the 430,000 microdramas launched in the country between January and August 2026 used AI, according to the National Radio and Television Administration of China. The volume was 13 times higher than that recorded in all of 2025.
Generative tools reduced costs and accelerated stages such as scriptwriting, character creation, image generation and post-production. But the expansion also increased the difficulty of winning an audience in a market marked by the multiplication of visually and narratively similar productions.
China already has more than 800 million microdrama users, while the sector generated more than 100 billion yuan, about US$ 15 billion, in 2025.
Scale increases pressure for quality
The ability to produce more and faster is no longer enough to guarantee attention. With hundreds of thousands of new titles arriving on the platforms, narrative differentiation and visual quality gain importance in the competition for audiences.
The Chinese government also increased pressure on the sector. The broadcasting authority mandated the identification of microdramas produced with AI and strengthened rules for the protection of image and voice rights.
Since the beginning of 2026, authorities have removed from the platforms 68,000 microdramas considered irregular and taken measures against more than 1,200 accounts. More than 90% of the content affected by the actions involved productions with AI.
The scenario shows a change of stage in the world's largest microdrama market. After transforming production cost and speed, AI now expands another challenge: creating content sufficiently distinct to avoid audience fatigue.
