From virtual voices to real impact: Authenticity, altruism, and egoism in social advocacy by human and virtual influencers

As the use of AI-powered virtual influencers flourishes in the marketing world, it is unclear how effective these influencers are as advocates for social causes. Through four pre-registered experiments, this study compares the impacts of human and virtual influencers in social advocacy, delineating the mechanisms driving their effectiveness and identifying potential boundary conditions that might influence their relative impact. Specifically, it investigates the perceived authenticity of human versus virtual influencers and how it affects digital activism and altruistic motives. In addition, the study assesses whether the unique characteristics of virtual influencers, such as novelty and autonomy, can counterbalance their perceived deficits in authenticity and egoistic motives to potentially amplify their advocacy effectiveness. The findings suggest that the advantages of virtual influencers in commercial marketing do not necessarily translate to, or enhance their role in, advocacy for social causes. By considering the impact of egoistic motives, this study takes a novel perspective to expand the conceptualization of authenticity in influencer social advocacy. It thus calls for a strategic reevaluation of how virtual influencers are utilized in cause advocacy initiatives. The study makes a significant contribution to the ongoing dialogue on the role of influencers in catalyzing digital activism, offering insights for optimizing influencer engagement in social causes.