Do I look real? Impact of digital human avatar influencer realism on consumer engagement and attachment

Purpose AI-powered digital human avatar influencer (DHAI) is a digitally created character with a human-like appearance and noteworthy social media presence. They mimic human behavior through form, behavior and emotional realism. However, there have been varied viewpoints in the literature about the effect of DHAI realism on consumer response. Therefore, this study aims to examine the effect of form, behavioral and emotional realism on consumer engagement and parasocial relationships that further affect attachment toward DHAI and brand, with the moderating effect of content authenticity. Design/methodology/approach Using a cross-sectional design, 426 respondents in India were asked to visit the Instagram page of a specific DHAI identified through a pretest study. The authors used the Smart PLS 4.0 version to examine the hypotheses. Findings Accordingly, based on the social presence theory, the findings of the quantitative study indicated that DHAI’s form, behavioral and emotional realism positively influence customers’ engagement with DHAI, but only the behavior and emotional realism of DHAI positively affect the parasocial relationship. Further, perceived DHAI’s content authenticity moderates the effect of DHAI engagement and parasocial relationship on DHAI sentimental attachment. Originality/value This study provides novel and practical insights for developing DHAI by considering realism characteristics for enhanced customer engagement, parasocial relationship and attachment toward DHAI and brands.