Xianyu Reports Surge in AI Service Orders for First Half of 2026
Alibaba's second-hand marketplace Xianyu reported that AI service orders reached 9.816 million in the first half of 2026, representing a 157% year-on-year increase. Nearly 5 million users purchased AI-related services on the platform, marking a 98% growth compared to the previous year. This trend highlights the rapid monetization of generative AI tools within the C2C gig economy, transforming AI skills into accessible side hustles for young creators. It also shows a significant demographic shift, with female and lower-tier city sellers driving a large portion of this digital service market. AI programming and website building was the fastest-growing category with a 1,732% year-on-year increase, followed by AI manga/drama production at 1,425%. Over 60% of the sellers are aged 18 to 35, with female sellers making up 62.4% of the base and earning an average of 897 RMB monthly.
## BACKGROUND
Xianyu is China's largest idle-goods trading platform, which has increasingly become a popular hub for young people to offer freelance services and digital products. AI manga/drama (AI 漫剧) is an emerging content format in China where creators use generative AI tools to produce animated videos with consistent characters, voiceovers, and scenes. AI agents are autonomous software systems powered by large language models that can perform complex workflows and tasks on behalf of users.