2025/06/20 by Lucas Whittaker, Jason Weismueller, Jason I. Pallant +1
Arts and Humanities · Computer Science · Social Sciences · #Media Influence and Health #Virtual Reality Applications and Impacts #Digital Games and Media
paper · doi:10.1016/j.bushor.2025.06.004
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.