At a recent adult product exhibition held in Shanghai, attendees were captivated by a new wave of AI-integrated intimate wellness products, as China’s leading sex toy manufacturers begin to tap into the global artificial intelligence boom. As the world’s largest manufacturing hub for adult products, China’s tech-driven innovation has already reshaped countless other industries, and the intimate wellness sector is now starting to explore AI’s transformative potential — though many players are moving cautiously to avoid running afoul of existing regulatory frameworks.
During a visit to the exhibition by AFP on Friday, a clear divide in approach emerged among participating companies. While some firms were eager to showcase their AI-enhanced offerings, others openly acknowledged wariness over the legal and privacy risks associated with machine-generated sexual content.
Across the sprawling exhibition floor, banners advertised Guangzhou-based firm Luvmazer’s “AI character dating” app, which syncs conversational interactions with virtual partners to real-time pulse adjustments on connected vibrators, with marketing copy promising responsive, immersive experiences that “leave you trembling with one sentence.” At the Cydoll exhibition booth, a life-sized cyberpunk-themed silicone doll with adjustable metal joints was displayed as a working prototype. According to factory manager Zhou Yuanqing, the prototype is engineered to deliver natural conversational responses and simulate authentic emotional expression, filling a growing demand for companionship amid shifting social habits. “Nowadays, many people don’t go out to socialize or meet friends anymore, they’d rather stay home alone playing games on their phones or computers,” Zhou explained to AFP. “But that doesn’t mean they don’t still need connection and companionship.”
Several other manufacturers showcased AI-powered tools that use machine learning to analyze adult video content, translating on-screen action into dynamic adjustments to device pressure, vibration speed, and pulse patterns — a feature that was little more than a niche novelty just a few years ago. “Almost every brand offers video syncing now,” noted an employee at Amorlink, a leading teledildonics brand that showcased its new connected vacuum cups built with high-performance processing chips at the event. Domestic condom giant Jissbon exhibited a two-in-one suction vibrator equipped with equally impressive AI features: long-distance remote control access, a library of customizable virtual “boyfriend” personas, and the ability to match vibration frequency and intensity to surrounding environmental noise.
Beyond consumer-facing products, some companies are also developing AI tools for back-end operations, offering AI-powered customer service agents for marketing and running offline adult retail stores, while others provide custom development solutions for brands looking to build their own smart intimate products. A promotional poster for Hong Kong-based firm metaXsire, which did not have a physical booth at the exhibition, advertised an AI-powered adult image and video generator capable of generating sexually explicit dialogue in over 80 languages. The company’s website claims its tool can swap the faces of celebrities or personal contacts onto pornographic video content, which can then be synced to connected smart toys. While the app’s terms of service prohibit users from leveraging the deepfake feature to shame or harass others, it provides no clear details on how the company will verify consent for the faces used in generated content.
Despite the rush to innovate, many exhibitors emphasized that caution remains the watchword for integrating AI with adult content, particularly given China’s strict regulatory landscape around explicit material. Pornography is technically illegal in mainland China, and most international adult video platforms are blocked by the country’s national internet firewall, only accessible via unauthorized virtual private network services. For many manufacturers, this regulatory environment means balancing innovation with risk mitigation.
Sam Xie, founder of Shanghai-based adult toy manufacturer Magic Motion, said his company’s products are compatible with third-party AI agents, but the firm carefully vets all software development partners to avoid compliance issues. “We have to be extremely careful, otherwise we can face all kinds of problems, even getting reported by consumers,” Xie told AFP.
For China’s $XX billion sex toy industry, the integration of AI represents both a major market opportunity and a complex regulatory balancing act, as manufacturers work to bring cutting-edge smart products to both domestic and global consumers while navigating uncertain legal terrain around AI-generated explicit content and user privacy.