How AI Is Transforming China's Entertainment Industry: Insights from iQIYI CEO Gong Yu

At the recent World Internet Conference, iQIYI founder and CEO Gong Yu asserted that China’s entertainment sector is poised for explosive growth, a claim increasingly validated by the platform’s own development.

Technological Innovation: AI Empowering Industry Revolution

AI is gradually altering how video content is produced, distributed, and monetized. iQIYI has deployed AI to analyze scripts and character traits, automatically selecting the most suitable actors through its proprietary "YiHui" intelligent casting system. In advertising, AI scene recognition identifies moments—such as a dining scene—and instantly suggests related services, restaurants, or delivery apps.

Focus on Content: Building an Online Entertainment World

The industry is moving from a one‑size‑fits‑all approach to highly individualized experiences, targeting niche verticals and community‑specific themes. Gong emphasizes that creating content that resonates with specific audience segments requires precise alignment with vertical categories and cultural circles. Successful shows like "China New Rap" and "Hot Blood Street Dance" illustrate how niche topics can scale to broader popularity.

Expanding Ecosystem and New Responsibilities

iQIYI’s core strengths remain drama and variety shows, but the company is broadening its portfolio: it acquired mobile game developer Tianxiang Huyu, formed a joint venture with New England Sports, and is expanding into games, sports, comics, literature, e‑commerce, and live streaming, steadily completing its "Apple Orchard" ecosystem.

Regarding the hit series "Story of Yanxi Palace," Gong attributes its success to a combination of compelling storytelling, strong acting, and high‑quality production. He advocates for a "content heat" metric to move beyond a pure traffic‑driven model, believing that more scientific heat indicators will improve content selection, promote higher‑quality works, and reduce the industry's reliance on data‑only competition.

Ultimately, Gong stresses that iQIYI’s greatest value lies in continuous innovation that benefits the industry and delivers content aligned with mainstream values to satisfy the public’s growing desire for a better quality of life.