AI-generated dog and cat dramas fetch huge audiences, creators earn millions

Hindustan Times

15-06-2025

Artificial intelligence-generated pet dramas are quickly becoming a viral sensation on short video platforms, drawing in millions of viewers with their emotional storylines and quirky characters.
One such hit features a ginger cat who starts out poor and is mocked by a white cat and her wealthy dog boyfriend. The 59-second video then shows the cat working as a construction worker and window cleaner, rising above his circumstances to become rich, ultimately stunning those who laughed at him. The video went viral in April and has since racked up nearly 150 million views.
The creator behind this viral content is a Chinese man known online as Ansheng, reported the South China Morning Post. He runs several AI-powered cat drama accounts, two of which have over a million followers, and several others with more than 500,000 each. The success of these clips has translated into income.
He shared, 'I could make between 1,200 and 2,000 yuan (US$170 and US$280) from one video with more than 10 million views,' estimating a monthly income of around 20,000 yuan (US$3,000).
Ansheng began posting on international platforms after realising that his earnings were limited on local apps. 'On a mainland platform I only made 50 yuan for a video with 8 million views, so I switched to overseas platforms for financial reasons,' he said.
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Producing the videos is both fast and cost-effective. Ansheng revealed that he spends less than 50 yuan a month by using free AI tools and churns out two to three videos daily. He doesn't even write original scripts, choosing instead to adapt existing ones.
In one of his most watched videos, which has 16 million views, the same script used for the ginger cat is repurposed—this time with Disney's Elsa as the lead, while the mocking characters take the form of Snow White and Wonder Woman.
Meanwhile, similar AI-generated content is taking off on mainland Chinese platforms, where creators are blending animal characters with traditional mini-drama tropes. One popular style features a Bichon Frise dog playing a poor girl who discovers she's a royal princess. She's ridiculed at the palace until a prince arrives and falls in love with her alone.
These melodramatic plots have gained a devoted audience, thanks to their emotional arcs and feel-good endings. The content is also being cleverly used to advertise both pet and human products—ranging from dog shampoo to pasta sauce.
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Latang, the creator of a dog drama channel, said the personified pet characters make it easier to advertise items meant for humans. Ansheng echoed this sentiment, adding, 'People do not sympathise with cats or dogs, but the emotions they carry.'