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Their paper, titled “The Effects of Influencer Identity on Consumer Perceptions,” explores how consumers respond to virtual versus human influencers, with a special focus on authenticity, trust, and various behavioral outcomes.

Their study comes at a pivotal moment as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) tightens disclosure rules for influencers, including virtual personas. Using a 2×2 between-subjects experiment with 599 participants, Barros and Fetscherin manipulated both the type of influencer (human vs. virtual) and the disclosure label (presented as human vs. presented as virtual) in an Instagram profile scenario. They found that authenticity strongly predicts trust, and trust in turn significantly shapes key outcomes—such as consumers’ intentions to follow an influencer, share positive word-of-mouth, purchase an endorsed product, and form favorable brand attitudes. Interestingly, with one exception, disclosure labels (identifying influencers as virtual or human) did not significantly influence consumer behavior across these four outcome variables, suggesting that how authentic and trustworthy an influencer appears matters far more than whether the influencer is human or virtual.

As the first study to empirically demonstrate these relationships, the findings offer huge implications for marketers navigating the rise of virtual influencers. Rather than focusing solely on disclosure or labeling, brands should prioritize building perceived authenticity and trust, as these remain the most powerful drivers of consumer engagement and brand success in the digital age.

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