Overnight, Li Jiaqi repeatedly trended on social media, first due to rumors of suspending his live streams, followed by his swift personal statement explicitly denying retirement speculations. On April 8, during Taobao Live's tenth-anniversary celebration, Li Jiaqi reflected on his journey as a host. Addressing an audience of fellow hosts and platform executives, he emotionally shared, "I truly want to thank the first generation of hosts for the past decade. In conversations, I often mention that I've been living a dream for ten years."
His on-stage remarks quickly drew widespread attention when he indicated he might miss two quarters of live streaming and had already begun exploring new ventures. However, late that night, Li Jiaqi clarified on social media that his speech contained a verbal slip—he meant two months, not two quarters—and emphasized he "is not retiring." Despite this correction, his statements fueled speculation about a gradual withdrawal from frontline hosting.
Regardless of whether Li Jiaqi steps back, one undeniable reality is clear: the rise of super hosts relies on a combination of timing, location, and human factors. As first-generation top hosts gradually fade from prominence, where will the live streaming industry find new growth? With the era of super hosts difficult to replicate, what will Taobao Live rely on to compete in the next decade?
Notably, Qing En, Product General Manager of Taobao Live, stated that over the past year, Taobao Live has democratized AI tools for all hosts, currently covering 600,000 hosts and improving host efficiency by 20%. As the live streaming e-commerce industry and Taobao Live urgently seek new growth engines, the question remains: Can AI become the true breakthrough for the next decade?
Taobao Live has now reached its tenth anniversary, with competition shifting toward trust and efficiency. In 2016, Mogujie pioneered the "live streaming + e-commerce" model, followed by Taobao Live's launch. Over the past decade, live streaming e-commerce has matured, producing iconic super hosts and record-breaking live streams that have deeply integrated into consumers' daily lives and transformed business operations, distribution channels, and brand growth models.
Meng Xin, Operations General Manager of Taobao Live, remarked at the anniversary event, "As live streaming e-commerce enters a phase of standardized development with improving governance, future competition will center on trust and efficiency." Signs indicate that, compared to the rapid expansion of previous years, growth in live streaming e-commerce has stabilized recently.
Data from Taobao Live shows that over the past year, core store broadcasts and influencer-driven broadcasts both achieved double-digit growth in confirmed revenue. The efficiency of launching new products via live streams increased, with transaction volume rising by 50%. The platform also attracted more professional hosts, such as Tim from "Filmstorm," Li Dan, and Cao Ying.
In the past year, Taobao's focus has shifted toward deepening user engagement. Qing En highlighted that Taobao Live's user quality and scale continued to improve, with 88VIP purchasers increasing by 21% year-over-year, annual per capita spending rising by 16%, and active channel visitors growing by 20%.
Super hosts, as symbolic figures of the live streaming e-commerce industry, have also undergone significant changes recently. Currently, Li Jiaqi has diversified his efforts. In 2026, he missed one month of live streaming to film the variety show "Partners" and will be absent for another month. Despite this, Li Jiaqi remains one of the most influential e-commerce hosts. According to the "2025 Hurun China New Influence Top 100 List," his fanbase on Taobao Live exceeds 94 million, a increase of 10 million from the previous year. He leads the "Hurun Most Commercially Valuable Live Streaming Hosts" ranking and ranks among the top ten in "Hurun Most Socially Influential Figures."
Meanwhile, top MCN agencies like Meione, Friends, and Yaowang Technology have expanded into multi-platform operations and strengthened their mid-tier host matrices. For example, as early as November 2022, Li Jiaqi announced new assisted-broadcast rooms, "All Girls" and "All Girls' Closets," to diversify product selections. To promote these channels, he interacted with assistant hosts like Qingzi. At the tenth-anniversary event, Li Jiaqi showcased Meione's host matrix and noted on social media, "From one person to a group, and now to today."
Regarding industry trends, Zhuang Shuai, founder of Bailian Consulting, stated that live streaming e-commerce is transitioning from the "personal myth" of super hosts to normalized brand and store broadcasts, ultimately returning to supply chain and user experience. Pan Helin, a renowned economist and member of the MIIT's Expert Committee on Information and Communication Economy, added that consumers are shifting toward content-driven e-commerce, including short dramas and embedded ads in自媒体 videos, which are capturing market share from live streaming. He predicts host traffic will gradually balance, urging e-commerce platforms to find new consumer engagement methods.
Can AI become the next breakthrough? In 2026, Taobao Live plans to focus on three areas: enhancing host differentiation, supporting new products and brands to shorten launch cycles, and boosting high-quality content to improve transaction efficiency and attract premium users. The platform will continue introducing top IPs, add quality content hosts in 100 niche sectors, and develop original marketing IPs to systematically support content-driven live streams. Additionally, Taobao Live launched the AI-powered "Live Assistant" for hosts, covering device diagnostics, business insights, product selection, script generation, live comment management, and post-stream analysis.
Qing En summarized the new fiscal year's core strategy as: "Focusing on user expansion and quality improvement, alongside AI-driven operational efficiency, to help hosts secure growth certainty amid uncertainty." This includes expanding reach and enhancing conversion through cross-channel user acquisition, upgraded algorithm matching, and improved fan management, as well as reducing operational costs via smart host tools, digital human innovations, and future AI-ready systems. Qing En also mentioned the upcoming "Live Brain" product, where AI will monitor real-time流量, product conversions, comments, and data anomalies during broadcasts, offering and executing suggestions.
While Taobao Live prioritizes AI implementation, MCN agencies are also actively adopting AI. For instance, Friends established the subsidiary Mandask in 2025 to specialize in AI marketing applications. Internally, Friends designated 2026 as the "Capability Building Year," focusing on AI integration into its core "Friend Cloud" system. The company's annual AI investments reportedly reach tens of millions of yuan.
Against this backdrop, can AI become the next breakthrough for live streaming e-commerce? Pan Helin believes AI e-commerce holds potential but remains unclear at this stage. He noted, "AI's main function is filtering products for consumers, but trust issues arise due to technologies like GEO. AI virtual hosts represent a new approach, but audience acceptance is limited, as consumers perceive AI as lacking sincerity." Zhuang Shuai added that while
In the long term, Taobao Live's ability to maintain its edge depends not on replicating past successes but on forging a more sustainable and dynamic path forward. This challenge is essential not only for Taobao Live but for the entire live streaming e-commerce industry.
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