2025/06/20 by Lucas Whittaker, Jason Weismueller, Jason I. Pallant +1 · 6 citations
Arts and Humanities · Computer Science · Social Sciences · #Advertising #Business #Computer science #Customer engagement #Digital Games and Media #Digital marketing #Marketing #Media Influence and Health #Political science #Public engagement #Public relations #Social media #Virtual Reality Applications and Impacts #World Wide Web
paper · doi:10.1016/j.bushor.2025.06.004
published in Business Horizons 69(4), 449-461 (Elsevier BV)
openalex publication_date 2025/06/20 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/16
What if your brand’s ambassador or celebrity endorser could hold personalized conversations with your worldwide audience, in any language, at any time, without ever setting foot in a studio? Digital Human Avatars (DHAs) are an emerging AI-facilitated avatar technology which combines advanced form and behavioral realism to deliver human-like and interactive engagement experiences. This conceptual article assists managers in exploring DHAs as interactive representations of brand ambassadors or public figures for engagement. We introduce DHAs, how they operate, and their increasing deployment in marketing contexts to engage audiences. We provide a balanced examination of the implications of DHAs by discussing key opportunities (e.g., multilingual reach, enhanced realism) and key risks (e.g., security vulnerabilities, legal and ethical concerns) DHAs present to managers. We conclude with presenting managers with five key strategic considerations for DHA implementation ( Augmentation not replacement, balance representativeness, contextual alignment, appropriate disclosure, and privacy protection for both users and public figures ) and provide specific managerial recommendations for each consideration.