THE RISE OF VIRTUAL INFLUENCERS: ASSESSING CONSUMER TRUST AND BRAND ENGAGEMENT IN THE AGE OF AI MARKETING

Abstract

Many recent developments in the field of marketing have introduced virtual influencers as a new digital brand communication channel due to the high rate of artificial intelligence adoption into the sphere of marketing. The paper will discuss how virtual influencers affect consumer trust and brand engagement as an element of AI-based marketing. With the help of a quantitative research method, the information was gathered among active users of social media platforms to examine the attitudes of credibility, transparency, and reliability of virtual influencers and the impact these factors have on consumer interest in brands. The results suggest that virtual influencers can help them achieve significant rates of consumer trust, which is achieved primarily due to consistency and transparency and not human authenticity. Findings also reveal that virtual influencers are an effective way of drawing consumer engagement and promoting interactive action on branded content. A positive correlation was found between consumer trust and brand contact, which emphasizes the fact that trust is a significant predictor of the success of virtual influencer marketing. The research will add to the existing literature on AI marketing, as it will allow investigating how artificial influencers remake the consumer brand relationship. The results provide a useful path to marketers to utilize virtual influencers in a responsible way and be trusted and engaged in more and more digital marketing world.

Keywords: Virtual Influencers, Artificial Intelligence Marketing, Consumer Trust, Brand Engagement, Digital Influencer Marketing