AI-powered virtual streamers and viewer behavior: An image-inspiration-behavior framework

IF 2.4 3区计算机科学 Q2 COMPUTER SCIENCE, CYBERNETICS

Entertainment Computing Pub Date : 2025-07-23 DOI:10.1016/j.entcom.2025.101000

Ting (Tina) Li , Zhongyuan Zhou , Xianfeng Zhang , Yang Zhou , Si Wen

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Today, a new form of live-streaming has emerged: virtual streamers powered by Artificial Intelligence technology, which autonomously perform live-streaming tasks as human streamers do. This form of live-streaming has quickly gained popularity. However, studies in this area are scarce. This study aims to fill this research gap by investigating how virtual AI streamers impact viewers by adopting the image-inspiration-behavior framework, in which the image of virtual AI streamers is described by warmth, competence, and coolness, and behavior is studied as interaction and purchase intentions. The data were collected from 559 participants via a scenario-based survey. The partial least squares – structural equation modeling and artificial neural network are used to analyze the data. It was found that the three image dimensions (warmth, competence, and coolness) influence consumer interaction and purchase intentions through the mediating effect of inspiration. The findings of this study advance previous studies mainly by investigating how virtual AI streamers impact viewer behaviors and offer insights to live-streaming companies in their adoption of virtual AI streamers.

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人工智能驱动的虚拟流媒体和观众行为：一个图像-灵感-行为框架

今天，一种新的直播形式出现了：由人工智能技术驱动的虚拟流媒体，它可以像人类流媒体一样自主执行直播任务。这种形式的直播迅速流行起来。然而，这方面的研究很少。本研究旨在填补这一研究空白，通过采用形象-启发-行为框架来研究虚拟AI主播如何影响观众，其中虚拟AI主播的形象被描述为温暖、能力和冷静，行为被研究为互动和购买意愿。数据是通过基于场景的调查从559名参与者中收集的。采用偏最小二乘-结构方程模型和人工神经网络对数据进行分析。研究发现，温暖、能力和冷静三个形象维度通过灵感的中介作用影响消费者互动和购买意愿。这项研究的结果主要通过调查虚拟人工智能流媒体如何影响观众的行为，并为直播公司采用虚拟人工智能流媒体提供见解，从而推进了之前的研究。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Entertainment Computing Computer Science-Human-Computer Interaction

CiteScore

5.90

自引率

7.10%

发文量

期刊介绍： Entertainment Computing publishes original, peer-reviewed research articles and serves as a forum for stimulating and disseminating innovative research ideas, emerging technologies, empirical investigations, state-of-the-art methods and tools in all aspects of digital entertainment, new media, entertainment computing, gaming, robotics, toys and applications among researchers, engineers, social scientists, artists and practitioners. Theoretical, technical, empirical, survey articles and case studies are all appropriate to the journal.