SHANGHAI, Aug. 9 -- She has pores, blemishes and wrinkles. Her make-up fades after a long day. She sweats while climbing stairs, her hair gets tangled and damp patches appear on her clothes.

Fang Taozi has also amassed nearly 400,000 followers in about two months and stars in a miniseries that has reportedly racked up 250 million views.

There is just one complication: Fang is not a person.

The 20-year-old AI-generated character has become one of mainland China's most striking virtual celebrities, according to South China Morning Post (SCMP), fuelling fascination among viewers and unease among actors worried about AI encroaching on their jobs.

Fang stars in The Laid-off Girl, a short-form drama about a small-town woman who moves to the...