During the Spring Festival, AI toys have become a popular New Year gift for parents to choose from for their children, frequently becoming a hot search term on shopping websites. When artificial intelligence technology is integrated into traditional toys, "intelligent partners" who can chat, empathize, and remember will emerge strongly. Behind the soaring popularity of AI toys and new product iterations, hidden concerns such as content security risks and psychological health impacts have also emerged. How to transform AI toys from a "tech carnival" to an "effective companion" and achieve standardized and healthy development? With this question in mind, the reporter conducted on-site visits. The sales frenzy and investment frenzy have opened up mainstream e-commerce platforms to search for "AI toys". A variety of products are dazzling - from plush toys co branded with classic anime IPs to tech savvy bionic robot dogs and robots. According to data from JD platform, since the launch of Jingxi's self operated New Year's goods festival, the search volume for "AI toys" has increased by 125% year-on-year. In the intelligent toy specialty area of a shopping mall in Chaoyang District, Beijing, AI toys are neatly arranged on the shelves, and parents occasionally stop and watch with their children to try them out. Under these diverse appearances, there is a built-in intelligent "brain" that can think, which is also the core of attracting consumers. He Yaqiong, Director of the Consumer Goods Industry Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, stated that the application of artificial intelligence and large models injects new soul into toy products, enhances interactive experience, and becomes a new competition track in the industry. Behind the heat is the enormous potential of the trillion dollar market. The "White Paper on AI Toy Consumption Trends" jointly released by JD.com and Shenzhen Toy Industry Association predicts that by 2030, the global market size of AI toys will exceed 100 billion yuan, with a compound annual growth rate of over 50%; The domestic market size is expected to exceed 10 billion yuan, with a compound annual growth rate of over 70%. Enterprises that smell business opportunities are accelerating their layout and launching AI toy products with unique features. Huawei has released its chatbot "Intelligent and Foolish", JD Jingzao's AI toys equipped with JoyInside system can add friends to each other, and Ubixian has launched its companion robot product "Youzi"... During an interview with Zhejiang Jinke Tom Cat Culture Industry Co., Ltd., the company's emotional companion robot based on the classic IP "Talking Tom Cat" has gained popularity in the market. The popularity of AI toys also radiates overseas. Wang Jun, Deputy Director of the General Administration of Customs, introduced that smart toys provide novel, friendly, and warm emotional consumption experiences. By 2025, smart watches and smart toys in China will have sold well in more than 170 countries and regions. But behind the bustling billion dollar race track, there is a hidden "false fire" in the industry, and many problems are gradually emerging. The reporter's investigation found that some AI toys have the phenomenon of "promotional gimmicks exceeding actual value". Many consumers question whether the functions are as powerful as advertised when trying them out. The actual interactive experience is single, the intelligent response is not accurate, and the functions do not match the promotion, which have become pain points that cannot be ignored in the market. At the same time, some small and medium-sized brands lack core technological support and rely solely on the concept of "AI" to attract consumers, further exacerbating the "virtual fire" situation on the track. The child is currently in a language sensitive period, and my family and I have limited time to spend together. This AI robot has been a great help. ”In a residential area in Hangzhou, citizen Zhang Jinli expressed her emotions while demonstrating the functions of robots to reporters. This robot can chat with children and explain knowledge points through natural and smooth language interaction, vivid and interesting knowledge popularization, making it a "home teacher" and intimate partner for children. During the visit, the reporter learned that the popularity of AI toys has attracted a large number of companies to enter the market. As of the end of 2025, there will be about 2000 AI toy companies in China. But behind the hustle and bustle, the dilemma of homogenization and various security vulnerabilities are becoming increasingly prominent, becoming stumbling blocks to the development of the industry. At present, the paradigm of AI toy interaction hardware has not undergone a breakthrough transformation, mainly in the form of question answering robots. ”Xu Minghuang, Deputy General Manager of Fujian Lili Industrial Co., Ltd., admitted in an interview with reporters that many AI toys are currently "changing soup without changing medicine", with similar core technologies and a lack of differentiated innovation. Zhu Zhigang, the head of Jinko Tom Cat Company, also stated that the current AI toys on the market are mostly in the mode of "universal large models+basic sensors+IP shells", and plagiarism and imitation phenomena occur from time to time, with serious lack of originality. In addition to homogenization, content security and data security vulnerabilities are even more concerning for parents. In a shopping mall in Chaoyang District, Beijing, the reporter met Ms. Fang who was repeatedly comparing products in front of the shelves. She bluntly said, "The advertisement claims to be able to accompany students, play, and develop intelligence, which looks very appealing, but I am particularly worried about children's excessive addiction, and even more afraid that the content in the toys is not standardized, after all, children's values are still in the formation stage." Ms. Fang's confusion expressed the voice of many parents - buying AI toys is no longer just adding a toy, but more like introducing a new "partner" for children in the digital world, but their behavior patterns, knowledge system, and interaction boundaries, parents cannot fully know. During an interview with reporters, Lv Peng, a researcher at the Institute of Sociology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, further pointed out the hidden dangers in the industry: "AI devices will collect sensitive data such as users' voice and images without perception at all times, and the circulation process of these data is opaque, which poses a risk of abuse and leakage; In terms of content, some AI toys lack a comprehensive mechanism for filtering out harmful information, which may transmit inappropriate content to minors and affect their cognitive development. ”The reporter also learned that some low-priced AI toys may have inaccurate answers and non-standard language during the interaction process. In addition, the mismatch between purchasing decisions made by parents and users who are minors has further exacerbated parents' anxiety, with many parents stating that they do not know how to determine whether an AI toy is suitable for their children. Standardized development is key, and the AI toy track is full of imaginative space, but there is still a long way to go from excitement to maturity. Industry insiders generally believe that promoting the long-term development of AI toys in standardization requires the collaborative efforts of regulatory authorities, enterprises, and households to form a joint force. Only in this way can we solve industry pain points, resolve development concerns, and truly unleash the value of AI toys as auxiliary companions. As the main operating entity, enterprises undoubtedly have to bear the primary responsibility. Zhu Zhigang suggested that relevant institutions should take the lead in organizing AI toy companies to connect the upstream and downstream ecosystems, explore common technical solutions for industry common technical problems; At the same time, we call on enterprises to adhere to originality, avoid plagiarism and imitation, increase research and development investment, and create differentiated products. Lv Peng also stated that enterprises should adhere to privacy design first, build graded content libraries, optimize algorithm ethics and product functions, ensure user data security, and prevent the transmission of harmful information. The reporter learned that some companies have started to take action to optimize product functions, improve content review mechanisms, launch AI toys suitable for minors of different ages, and set up anti addiction modes. The guidance and regulation of regulatory authorities are important guarantees for the healthy development of the industry. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has clearly stated that efforts will be made in policy guarantees, product innovation, and standardized development to promote the high-quality development of the AI toy industry. Lv Peng suggested that relevant departments should accelerate the improvement of AI toy special regulations and standards, clarify corporate responsibilities, strengthen supervision of the entire process of product research and development, production, sales, and use, and increase the accountability of non compliant enterprises. The home, as a usage scenario for AI toys, also plays an important role. Human emotional communication is multidimensional, and AI can give children the answers they want, but machines cannot generate parental love. ”Li Juan, a psychological counselor at the Mental Health Education and Counseling Center of Zhejiang University, suggests that parents can limit the use time, scenarios, and frequency of AI toys based on the principles of "whether they are needed, beneficial, and appropriate" to ensure limited and balanced use; At the same time, parents should do a good job in selecting and controlling products, carefully understand the technical strength and content review mechanism of products, guide children to use AI toys correctly, carry out privacy protection and digital literacy education, and avoid children's excessive dependence. (New Society)