Although virtual influencers (VIs) have emerged as a critical tool for brand promotion, the differential effects of two persuasive strategies, production experience and enjoyment experience, on consumers’ purchase intentions remain underexplored. By integrating signaling theory with mind perception theory, this study aims to address this gap, examining how and when VI persuasive strategy influence purchase intentions through the lens of sender–signal congruence.
Three experiments were conducted to investigate the impact of VI persuasive strategy (production experience vs enjoyment experience) on purchase intentions. Furthermore, the mediating roles of perceived quality and authenticity were examined, alongside the moderating effects of platform type (utilitarian vs hedonic) and controller type (artificial intelligence [AI] vs human).
The production experience strategy was found to significantly enhance purchase intentions compared to the enjoyment experience strategy, a relationship mediated by perceived quality and authenticity. In addition, platform type was identified as a significant moderator: the production experience strategy proved more effective on utilitarian platforms, whereas the enjoyment experience strategy was better suited for hedonic platforms. Controller type was also found to moderate these effects. Specifically, for AI-controlled VIs, the production experience strategy elicited higher purchase intentions, whereas for human-controlled VIs, the differential effectiveness between the two strategies was mitigated.
By systematically comparing these two persuasive strategies, the current literature on VI marketing is advanced. Moreover, by unpacking the dual-mediation pathways, this study successfully integrates mind perception theory with signaling theory, thereby profoundly expanding the theoretical and application boundaries of both frameworks within AI marketing contexts.
Actionable guidance is provided for brands seeking to optimize the linguistic design of VIs. Specifically, the latent potential of the production experience strategy is highlighted, and practical recommendations are offered for aligning persuasive strategies with specific platform types and VI controller configurations.
Novel theoretical insights are contributed by conceptualizing sender–signal congruence as a fundamental prerequisite for signal effectiveness in AI communication. Consequently, the underlying pathways and boundary conditions governing VI persuasion are comprehensively clarified.
