iQiyi Launches AI Production Tool, Revamps Platform as Streaming Competition Intensifies

Gate News message, April 20 — iQiyi, a Beijing-based streaming platform backed by Baidu, announced at a content event that it is reshaping its app and website to host more AI-generated and social content. The company unveiled Nadou Pro, an AI production tool designed to assist with scriptwriting, storyboarding, and video rendering. CEO Gong Yu stated that iQiyi aims to release a commercially successful AI-generated film by summer 2026, as the platform seeks to counter years-long sales declines driven by short-video competitors such as Douyin.

iQiyi’s stock hit a 52-week low of $1.25 on March 17, 2026, with a price-to-earnings ratio of -40.59, reflecting continued unprofitability. The company faces tight liquidity, with a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. In response, management approved a $100 million share buyback program over up to 18 months and made a confidential filing for a Hong Kong Stock Exchange listing of its Class A shares, pending regulatory approvals and board decisions.

However, iQiyi’s AI ambitions face regulatory headwinds. China’s Cyberspace Administration issued draft rules requiring consent before using a person’s likeness, while an actors’ association condemned the scraping of film and TV data to train AI models without consent. ByteDance’s micro-drama platform Hongguo removed “Peach Blossom Hairpin” after it accumulated over 40 million views amid allegations that AI replicated people’s facial features without authorization, highlighting the real risks facing AI production tools in China.