AI influencers in marketing: how ai influencers’ anthropomorphism impacts on consumer intention among young people in Ho Chi Minh City

Abstract

Research Purpose: Businesses around the world are increasingly changing their marketing campaigns using AI influencers. Availability, effortless control, decreased risk of scandals and easily tailored to specific needs are the characteristics that make AI influencers more attractive in the eyes of brand marketers. Furthermore, previous studies have compared endorsement effectiveness between AI and human influencers. However, the research results cannot prove that AI influencers are more effective than human influencers. Moreover, although businesses in Vietnam are aware of AI influencers, currently the number of research articles on this topic is quite limited, so there are very few businesses using this form of marketing. Therefore, to promote businesses to use AI influencers, in this research paper, the authors investigated the relationships between AI influencers' anthropomorphism and purchase intention, the mediating effect of social presence, parasocial interaction, AI influencers' credibility, mimetic desire and brand trust among young people in Ho Chi Minh city. Scientific Research Method: Cronbach's Alpha, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) are the analyses that the authors performed in the study with 300 people who have known about AI influencers. Research Result: The results showed that AI influencers' anthropomorphism had a positive impact on consumer's purchase intention through other factors in the study model except social presence. Specifically, social presence has no impact on mediating the relationship between AI influencers' anthropomorphism and AI influencers' credibility. Conclusion: This study suggests managerial implications for brand marketers, including the finding that a more anthropomorphised AI influencer is a crucial factor in stimulating purchase intention among young people in Ho Chi Minh city.