Hey Lobsters,
Most AI video companies are obsessed with cinematic quality.
Chinese AI labs are obsessed with something else:
producing vertical content at massive scale.
And for operators running:
TikTok ads
LinkedIn video funnels
short-form B2B content
outbound video campaigns
this changes everything.
Right now, Chinese AI models are becoming almost impossible to beat on a pure quality/price ratio for vertical video production.
Here’s the shortlist I would actually use today.
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THIS WEEK’S SIGNAL
Chinese AI companies are optimizing for:
mobile-first content
short attention spans
fast iteration
high-volume creative production
Not Hollywood-style filmmaking.
That’s why many Chinese models already feel more practical for vertical marketing content than Western alternatives.
THE SHORTLIST
1. Kling — Best overall AI video model for vertical ads
Best for
TikTok ads
B2B vertical videos
product demos
fake UGC
short-form creatives
Why it wins
Kling understands the language of vertical content extremely well:
fast pacing
dynamic camera motion
TikTok-style visuals
mobile-native formats
The outputs already feel optimized for attention retention.
Pricing
Starting plans around $6/month
Pro plans around $30/month
Much cheaper than traditional video production
My take
Probably the strongest quality/price ratio right now for scalable short-form content production.
2. Hailuo AI — Best low-cost content machine
Best for
fast content generation
ad variations
high-volume testing
simple product videos
Why it wins
Hailuo is less cinematic than Kling.
But it’s:
faster
cheaper
extremely good for volume
A lot of Chinese operators use it as a “creative testing engine.”
Pricing
Free tier available
Paid plans starting around $9–15/month
My take
If your strategy depends on producing huge amounts of variations quickly, Hailuo is one of the best ROI tools available.
3. HeyGen — Best AI avatar system for B2B video
Best for
talking-head videos
sales outreach
multilingual B2B content
AI spokesperson videos
Why it wins
HeyGen drastically reduces the cost of producing:
personalized outreach videos
educational content
localized marketing videos
without needing cameras or actors.
Pricing
Creator plans around $29/month
Business plans scale higher depending on usage
My take
For B2B vertical content, HeyGen is probably the easiest way to scale video production without building a media team.
WHY THIS MATTERS
Most Western AI video tools still optimize for:
realism
cinematic aesthetics
demo-quality outputs
Chinese AI tools optimize for:
speed
iteration
conversion
scalable content production
That’s a completely different philosophy.
And for marketers, it’s often the more useful one.
COPY THIS
If you create vertical marketing content:
Use Qwen for hooks & scripts
Use Kling for premium creatives
Use Hailuo for high-volume testing
Use HeyGen for AI avatars & localization
This is currently one of the highest ROI AI video stacks for B2B operators.
And the gap with traditional production workflows is growing very fast.
GET
Lacking time to setup this workflow ?
Get a free demo
Until next week,
The ShanghAI Guy
