“Manipulated virtual influencers (VIs)†： The impact of VI post customization level on consumers’ willingness to engage in VI marketing campaigns

In recent years, virtual influencers (VIs) have increasingly leveraged customized content on social platforms to enhance consumer engagement in brand marketing campaigns. However, existing research has insufficiently explored the psychological mechanisms underlying the impact of VI content customization on consumers. Building on the Cue Diagnosticity Theory, this research explores the impact of VI content customization on consumer engagement and the mechanisms behind it, while also examining how language arousal levels and social cues moderate this relationship. The results from four scenario-based experiments (N = 1583) indicate that highly customized VI posts decrease consumer engagement by amplifying the perception of VI manipulation. Additionally, language with higher arousal enhances consumers’ manipulation inferences triggered by highly customized VI posts, thus lowering their willingness to engage in VI marketing campaigns. In contrast, rich social cues help to alleviate the negative impact of highly customized VI posts on consumer engagement. The findings clarify how content customization boosts VI marketing effectiveness, offering actionable insights for strategy development and implementation.