Bring AI to the arena: Empowering the entire e-sports process with AI | 2026 AI Partner · Beijing Yizhuang AI + Industry Conference

The integration of AI has extended the competitive dimension of esports from the operational level to the data and strategy levels.

The combination of AI and esports is not just about making computers stronger, but about making the entire industry smarter. Zhao Jian pointed out that on the player side, AI can analyze players' operating habits and decision - making patterns, and simulate opponents of different styles for targeted training; on the event side, AI can understand the game situation, generate stylized commentary, and empower event management and business operations; on the industry side, AI drives intelligent video editing, virtual anchors, and derivative product development.

The following is the content of the speech, which has been sorted and edited by 36Kr:

Zhao Jian | Assistant Professor at Beijing Zhongguancun College, Head of AI + Games/Esports

Dear leaders and friends, good day! I'm Zhao Jian from Beijing Zhongguancun College. Currently, I'm a doctoral supervisor at the university, and our research group is engaged in AI + esports + industry.

The theme I'm sharing with you today is "Taking AI to the esports arena: Full - process empowerment of AI + esports".

Esports is the 99th sports competition event. It was included in the Hangzhou Asian Games for the first time. Saudi Arabia will host the first Olympic Esports Games. According to incomplete statistics, China has become the world's largest esports market, with an industrial scale of over 150 billion RMB. Esports events are not just a form of entertainment for young people, but have also become a new driving force for promoting the development of the digital economy.

Against this background, the introduction of artificial intelligence technology has injected new vitality into esports, which is mainly reflected in three aspects:

1. On the player side, traditional esports training relies on behavior prediction and simulated confrontation to provide players with precise training plans. AI can analyze players' operating habits, reaction times, and decision - making patterns. At the same time, AI can also simulate opponents of different styles to help players conduct targeted drills and improve training efficiency. AI analyzes opponents' hero selections and item - building preferences, which means that esports competitions are not only a competition of operations but also a contest of data and strategies.

2. On the event side, AI can provide better services to the public. AI can accurately understand the current game situation and generate stylized commentary content to meet the needs of different groups. In addition, it can also empower event management, fan behavior analysis, advertising placement, etc., to improve the commercial value and operational efficiency of events.

3. On the industry side, AI also plays an important role in the esports content field, such as intelligent video editing of game videos and virtual anchors. At the same time, AI can empower the development of esports derivatives.

Due to time constraints, I won't list more examples here.