Baidu Beta-Tests "Hogee," an All-in-One AI Short Drama Platform, Potentially Ushering in the 2.0 Era

Baidu's smart Cloud team has developed an AI short DRAMa creation platform named Hogee AI, with a dedicated mobile app slated for imminent release. Hogee is being positioned as a full-chain creation platform. Built on Baidu's proprietary "openclaw" digital employee Framework, it leveRAGes diverse AI Agents to replace specific roles in a traditional production crew. This allows creators to take a project from script to final cut using large language models, enabling high-quality stories to reach the market at a frACTion of the usual cost.

Previous AI video tools were fragmented, typically limited to generating isolated CLIps or converting text and images into video. Hogee distinguishes itself as a holistic solution. According to industry outlet Dujia, this platform represents a potential milestone in the domestic AI short drama SECtor, marking a DeFinitive shift from tool-based assistance to industrialized production and potentially launching the "AI Short Drama 2.0" era.

At a recent AIGC film and television creation salon, Chen Lingyun, Head of Smart Marketing Innovative Products at Baidu Smart Cloud, presented the platform's full workflow logic in a session titled "Mining Gold from manga Dramas: How Large Models Help Creators Produce Hits at a Low Cost." By comparing data, he dEMOnstrated that AI short drama production costs can be slashed by 70% to 95% compared to traditional live-action filming, signifying a radical cost revolution. Citing successful case studies, he outlined a new paradigm where small teams of 3-12 people, with budgets under 100,000 yuan, can produce short dramas that achieve hundreds of millions of views. The Hogee AI platform is the core Carrier of this low-cost creation logic.

In terms of product positioning, Hogee AI is not just a single AI generation tool, but an all-in-one, full-chain workstation designed for short drama creators, small production teams, and MCN agencies. Its core value lies in Cost Reduction, efficiency improvement, and Lightweight Operation. It condenses the traditional production pipeline—screenwriting, storyboarding, shooting, editing, and voiceovers—into a lean model of "AI collaboration" plus "human refinement." This allows users to quickly launch a short drama project without needing Professional filmmaking Skills. The product has already started web-based testing, with an APP veRSIon on the way, promising even greater convenience as users will be able to create and manage projects anytime, anywhere.

Notably, Hogee AI constructs a diversified matrix of Digital Employees, completing the closed loop of "creation-operation-monetization." The platform interface reveals multiple "OpenClaw" digital employee roles, including a General Personal Assistant, Business Insight Expert, Social Media Content Operator, Marketing Material Creator, Data Analysis Master, WeCom Private Domain customer service Agent, and Intelligent Outbound Call Specialist, each with distinct responsibilities that ensure highly efficient collaboration.

The Social Media Content Operator enables one-click content creation, intelligent publishing, and data review for efficient account management. The Business Insight Expert mines industry and market data, focusing on consumer analysis and trending topic identification to provide data-backed creative direction. The Marketing Material Creator can instantly generate commercial-grade posters and short videos from text, ensuring a rapid transition from concept to material. The data analysis and private domain operation agents help creators track business metrics, follow up on customer leads, and improve conversion rates, ensuring that content production leads directly to commercial returns.

During a practical test, when instructed to "create a short drama for the Chinese New Year," the Content Operation Specialist agent did not immediately generate a script. Instead, it asked follow-up questions to refine the creative direction, such as, "Which emotional tone do you prefer for the story?" After several rounds of guided dialogue, the creator finalized the script by simply choosing preferred options. The final product, a complete script aligned with the user's vision, was then generated. Subsequently, it can be further processed by other agents like the Business Insight Expert and Marketing Material Creator to maximize its commercial value, achieving end-to-end synergy from creation to monetization.

To access the full range of features, users need to purchase a Hogee Digital Employee package. Pricing starts at 89 yuan per month for the Basic edition, going up to 259 yuan per month for a higher-tier Standard version. An Enterprise edition requires a custom quote.

Overall, Hogee AI is not a gimmick. It transforms short drama creation from a capital-intensive, long-cycle model into a lightweight, fast-iteration model, significantly lowering the industry's bARRier to entry and ensuring stories are no longer bottlenecked by funding and technical expertise.

From another perspective, Hogee AI represents a crucial strategic move for Baidu as it grApples with financial performance pressure and seeks new growth engines. The company's 2025 annual report showed a slight revenue decline to 129.079 billion yuan from 133.125 billion yuan in 2024, with net profit attributable to the parent company plummeting to 5.589 billion yuan from 23.760 billion yuan, indicating significant profitability headwinds. In this context, Baidu urgently needs AI-driven business lines to find new growth levers, and the low-cost, high-potential AI short drama sector, where Hogee AI operates, is likely a key focus for its future expansion.