The Power of Virtual Influencers: Impact on Consumer Behaviour and Attitudes in the Age of AI
Open accessAbstract
In recent years, a new type of influencer has emerged in the field of social media marketing: virtual influencers. Though it is spreading fast, the trend is still new and, therefore, limited research has been conducted on the topic. This study aims to investigate the impact of virtual influencers on customers and whether there is a direct impact on human influencers due to the rise of virtual influencers in the industry. The study employed a questionnaire-based survey method to collect and analyse responses from a sample of 357 participants. The questions focus on trust, credibility, expertise, and contribution to purchase intention by the virtual influencers. The results indicate that customers are increasingly attracted to virtual influencers and that virtual influences are perceived as more trustworthy, credible, and relevant to customers’ preferences, leading to an increase in purchase intention. The study also discusses the implications of these findings for managers designing marketing campaigns.
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AI-driven virtual influencers shape consumer behaviour and decision-making processes, potentially reducing the need for independent critical evaluation.
“This study highlights how AI-driven virtual influencers shape consumer behaviour and decision-making processes, potentially reducing the need for independent critical evaluation.”
From AI Tools in Society: Impacts on Cognitive Offloading and the Future of Critical Thinking (2025) · cites this paper as Gerlich [44]
The General Conclusions and Contributions to Literature (sections 7.1–7.2; page numbers unavailable) report that virtual influencers affect consumers’ opinions, choices, and purchase intentions. The paper does not establish that they reduce the need for independent critical evaluation; that is an additional inference, not a reported finding. (LLM, conf=0.86)
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- Authors
- Gerlich, M.
- Affiliations
- SBS Swiss Business School (CH)
- Corresponding author
- Gerlich, Michael
- ORCID
- Gerlich, Michael
- Venue
- Administrative Sciences
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Published
- 2023-08-02
- Volume
- 13
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 178
- ISSN
- 2076-3387 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W4385497952
- Cited by
- 165
- References
- 34
- Citations by year
- 2026: 57 · 2025: 60 · 2024: 45 · 2023: 3
- FWCI
- 71.11
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Administrative Sciences (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Econstor (Econstor) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Digital Marketing and Social Media
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Artificial Intelligence › AI in Service Interactions
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Marketing › Consumer Behavior and Marketing Influence
- Keywords
- virtual influencers, social media marketing, consumer behavior, consumer trust, credibility, expertise, purchase intention, human influencers, artificial intelligence, marketing campaigns
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