100,000 people in line, just one click to produce content – as AI creation becomes simpler, why are hit products becoming harder to create?

Summary of Key Points

AI technology has lowered the barrier to content creation to the point where a single sentence is enough to produce a video. However, with the surplus of content, new scarce resources have emerged, such as the ability to create engaging and memorable content, the speed to follow trends, and a sensitivity to audience aesthetics. The opportunities for AI products lie in creating business models that allow creators to make money, as well as focusing on niche markets (B2B) and developing interactive content for consumers at low costs in the future.

1. AI Has Lowered the Creation Barrier: From Professional Equipment to Single-Sentence Videos

In the past, ordinary people who wanted to make videos had to buy cameras, write scripts, hire actors, and edit audio-visual materials—a process that was quite discouraging. Now, AI has eliminated all these barriers:

• Skill Equality: You simply need to describe the scene (for example, “The protagonist is crying in a coffee shop on a rainy day”), and AI will automatically generate the script, storyboard, visuals, and even the audio. There’s no need to understand terms like “camera movement” or “composition”—the model converts your everyday language into professional content.
• Equipment Equality: A computer or even a smartphone is enough; there’s no need to rent a studio or buy expensive equipment. “The ideas in your head can directly become visuals,” which represents the equality of creative opportunities for everyone.
• The use of specific commands (like “magic words”) is becoming obsolete. AI models can now understand your intentions effortlessly. For instance, if you say “Sunlight shines through the trees onto the face,” it will know to create a soft lighting effect without you needing to specify techniques like “backlighting and blurred shots.”

2. In a Sea of Content, Engaging Content Is the Real Value: What Makes Your Content Stand Out?

While AI makes content creation accessible to everyone, only a few pieces will really succeed among millions. The new scarce skills can be categorized into three types:

• High-Level Skills: The ability to create stories that resonate with users (a kind of “talent” for creating hits). For example, when game companies hire, they no longer focus on whether someone knows how to use tools but on whether the person has the creativity to write scenes that make people laugh or cry. Such skills are hard to develop.
• Mid-Level Skills: The speed to respond to trends. For instance, if a Ghibli-style becomes popular, can you use AI to produce related content immediately? This requires quick information gathering and execution, which is a crucial skill for many creators today (although it may lead to content homogenization).
• Low-Level Skills: Knowing how to use tools effectively and understanding your audience. New tools are easy to learn, but you still need to know what your fans like. Replicating popular content from others might not work on your account; you must target your specific audience.

Key Point: AI can help with the technical aspects, but good scripts and inspiration remain essential and cannot be replaced by AI.

3. The Reason Users Are Willing to Pay: AI Tools Are More Than Just Toys—They’re Profit-Making Instruments

Initially, people saw AI tools as fun, but now some are willing to pay dozens of dollars per month for subscriptions because they offer real benefits:

• Business Models Are Crucial: Platforms like TikTok and Bilibili have become successful because creators can make money on them. Therefore, these platforms offer features that turn creating content into a source of income, motivating creators to subscribe to AI tools.
• Solving Practical Problems: For example, game companies use AI to produce materials in half the time, saving significant time and costs. Ordinary people can use AI to create anime series quickly and gain followers, making the subscription worth it.

In Summary: Users pay not for AI itself but for the ability to make money or save time using it.

4. Where Are the Future Opportunities?

The opportunities created by AI are both short-term and long-term:

• Short Term (1-2 years): Niche Market Focus: Industries like gaming, e-commerce, and advertising have different needs. Tools that meet these specific requirements will be highly profitable.
• Long Term: Interactive Content for Consumers: When the cost of AI-generated videos drops significantly, ordinary people will be able to create interactive content (e.g., allowing viewers to influence the plot). New creative possibilities will emerge, with most of the innovation coming from the consumer side.
• Positive Content as a New Trend: Platforms are encouraging creators to use AI to document “good deeds in cities” that have previously gone unnoticed. Such content resonates with users due to its universal value, and AI helps make these stories visible.

Final Conclusion

AI makes it possible for everyone to become a creator, but those who stand out are those who can tell compelling stories, understand their audience, and seize opportunities quickly. Technology is a tool; it’s human creativity that truly drives success.