The Phenomenon of Virtual Influencer in Digital Communication

The object of the study is virtual influencers – digital characters created with the help of computer programs and artificial intelligence, on behalf of which agencies maintain pages in social networks to increase the number of supporters and promote branded goods and services among them. This concept emerged in the last decade in a practical environment and is currently actively developing, attracting the attention of researchers. The relevance of the article, on the one hand, is related to the novelty of the phenomenon of virtual influencers, its lack of research, and on the other hand, the significant potential of influencing the formation of public opinion and changes in the principles and formats of communications in the digital age. The purpose is to conceptualize the “virtual influencer” phenomenon, define its role and place in modern digital communication, and outline its opportunities and risks. The research methods are a critical review of theoretical sources, publications in the industry media, and expert blogs of recent years, as well as a SWOT analysis based on consideration of practical aspects: content specifics, methods of interaction with the audience, and statistical indicators of the profiles of the most popular virtual influencers in social networks. The main conclusions are that virtual influencers are a new specific type of communicators, artificial technological and informational products of collective creativity that compete with live bloggers in digital reality. Currently, virtual influencers cannot communicate with the audience on their own. However, with the development of artificial intelligence technologies, they will learn this based on the analysis of the content of social networks. They will not just imitate live contact but will conduct meaningful communication. Over time, virtual influencers will overcome the evolutionary distance from exotic communication tools to self-managed carriers of meaning. They will become independent actors of social communications, bringing society closer to the metaverse.