ABSTRACT
The emergence of virtual influencers (VIs)—digitally created characters managed by individuals, agencies, or brands—represents a significant evolution in social media marketing, powered by advancements in computer generated imagery (CGI) and artificial intelligence (AI). For creators, VIs offer compelling advantages over human influencers (HIs), especially unparalleled flexibility to tailor the appearance and behaviour precisely to specific audiences and brand values. However, creating influential virtual personas also presents unique challenges for creators. Consumers tend to perceive VIs as “authentically fake”, recognizing their artificiality while still valuing their curated personalities and content. Also, close resemblance of VIs to humans can lead to the uncanny valley effect, making consumers feel uneasy. This chapter explores how consumers perceive and respond to VIs in different marketing contexts and discusses opportunities for creators to reshape online content creating and social media practices with VIs while highlighting risks tied to psychological and ethical implications.
