In everyday life, digital technologies have become ubiquitous. We have been immersed in modern technologies, influencing our behavior—from consumption patterns to communication styles. Generation Z, often referred to as digital natives, is the first generation born into a fully digital world. This is why they have an entirely different set of behaviors, attitudes, and expectations.
Gen Z values originality and sincerity, and they expect the same from brands, moving away from traditional marketing approaches. Consequently, influencer marketing has emerged as one of the most effective strategies for engaging Gen Z, as they tend to value peer-like recommendations over traditional advertising. However, with the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence, the landscape of influencer marketing is evolving.
Virtual influencers and AI-generated content (e.g., ads) have been gradually entering the digital realm and becoming more prevalent. This situation raises important questions about how Generation Z—a generation that holds a clear advantage in terms of technological fluency and leads the way in adopting emerging technologies—perceives AI-generated content.
Defining Characteristics of Generation Z
According to studies, two generations spending the highest amount of time on social media and digital platforms in general are Gen Z and Millennials. Not only are these two generational cohorts the world’s top consumers of online media, but they also produce the great bulk of online content.
Gen Z in both the US and other Western countries was born into technology and has never seen a life without using mobile devices or social media (Singer et al., 2023). A 2022 survey in the United States revealed that 38% of the Gen Z members stated they used social media for over 4 hours per day, which is nearly twice as much as adults in other generations (Dixon, 2023). Their usage of digital channels is anticipated to increase by 4% between 2023 and 2027; furthermore, it is not surprising that this habit will change afterwards.
As frequently highlighted, Gen Z are considered digital natives, having grown up in a technology-driven environment, which has shaped their strong familiarity with digital tools and platforms. Managing a work-life balance, using the internet specifically to obtain information, individuality, entrepreneurial activity, financial priorities, and efficient multitasking are characteristics of this generation that has been joining the workforce.
Besides being the most active generation among others, Gen Z relies significantly on social media for information, particularly from influential content producers. Half of Gen Z individuals indicated that they cannot live without using social media; among other generations, this view is held by only 35% (Singer et al., 2023).
Their heavy use of digital media has led marketers to utilize social media to reach Gen Z. Moreover, since Gen Z has been growing to become the most populated consumer market in the world and they have a significant spending power, many marketing companies have prepared reports about best practices to approach this market (Barbe & Neuburger, 2021). Compared to other generations, Gen Z is keen to interact with the brands they like, utilizing social media to assess how attached they are to the brand and how much it means to them.
Influencer Marketing and Gen Z Interaction
To attract Gen Z’s interest, influencer marketing has emerged as one of the most effective marketing strategies. As traditional marketing methods have started to lose their impact and people increasingly tend to trust peer-like recommendations over direct advertisements, influencer marketing has successfully built a strong connection between brands and young consumers.
Reports show that Gen Z responds best to influencers, even when they are aware that the content is sponsored. Their trust in influencers is so strong that it falls somewhere between recommendations from family and friends and traditional media advertisements. Furthermore, studies show that more than half of Generation Z trusts information provided by influencers, and 63% prefer to see influencers over celebrities. Interestingly, digital influencers can establish a genuine connection with Generation Z in just eight seconds or less (Barbe & Neuburger, 2021).
Furthermore, 64% of Gen Z consumers are interested in interacting with real and objective influencer reviews, while 55% report that being provided discount and promotion codes increases the likelihood of seeking out content from influencers (Sprout Social, 2024).
For Gen Z, influencers are not only sources of product recommendations but also lifestyle role models, entertainment providers, and even educational figures. They are drawn to influencers who demonstrate authenticity, transparency, and align with their personal values. This has made influencer marketing a cornerstone in modern digital strategies targeting Gen Z.
Virtual Influencers
Recent developments in the artificial intelligence (AI) field have been challenging modern marketing notions. Virtual influencers, which have gained extensive popularity, are successful alternatives to human counterparts. Some other terms are also being used to refer to nonhuman influencers, such as AI influencers and computer-generated imagery (CGI) influencers.
AI influencers are defined as digitally produced humans who are linked to online fame and employ algorithms and software to carry out human-like duties. These virtual personalities appear in a realm combining virtual and real-world components. They share their own “life” stories on their personal profiles. The images and videos shared by virtual influencers are similar to those shared by real influencers (Kholkina et al., 2025). AI influencers might have appearances like cartoon or anime characters (e.g., Noonoouri) or have a high degree of photorealism and resemble real people (like Lil Miquela, Immagram, and Bermuda).
Brands aiming to reduce public relations risks find virtual influencers to be a compelling alternative because they are reliable, approachable, and scandal-proof. Compared to more conventional influencers, they also provide more constant content and are less prone to be entangled in arguments (Ferraro et al., 2023).
Perceptions about Virtual Influencers and AI Ads
Even though Gen Z is generally defined as “digital natives,” a study demonstrates that one third of Gen Z has a negative perception about AI influencers while many acknowledge and embrace the AI in other parts of their lives.
More specifically, one participant in that research expressed that AI influencers are unsettling and that it is strange for brands to invest in AI practices that have neither consciousness nor independent opinions (Soave & Eder, 2024).
Similarly, according to The 2024 Influencer Marketing Report, perceptions about AI influencers are multifaceted: 37% of participants claim that a brand that employs virtual influencers would attract their interest, whereas the same percentage say they would be hesitant of a brand that does so. The remaining 27% appear to be disinterested and unable to distinguish between human and artificial intelligence influencers (Sprout Social, 2024).
Another study on Gen Z and AI-generated advertisements uncovers a number of aspects:
- The Gap Between Industry Executives and Consumers: Industry experts are optimistic about advantages that are being brought by AI in advertising. However, young individuals express more skepticism and negativity about it conversely with what advertisers think. 80% of advertising professionals assume that consumers have a highly or moderately favorable opinion of AI-generated advertisements, but in reality only less than fifty percent of Gen Z and Millennial consumers share this opinion (Williamson & Koch, 2024). Moreover, slightly above half of the industry professionals state that companies using ads built by AI are “creative,” but only 38% of Gen Z and Millennial participants agree with this statement. It is more likely for industry professionals to say “innovative” and “progressive” about AI-generated ads. On the other hand, compared to industry executives, consumers are more likely to perceive the deployment of AI to generate ads negatively, considering them “unoriginal” or “unethical.”
- Skepticism of Gen Z: There is a higher likelihood for members of Gen Z to attribute “inauthentic” or “fake” to brands using AI to generate ads, unlike Millennials, who consider those brands “innovative” and “tech-savvy.” This attribute might be related to Gen Z’s broader skepticism and selectiveness towards advertising practices (Williamson & Koch, 2024).
- Engagement Factors: Consumers engage with the ads highest if visuals and graphics are presented in high quality. With the usage of AI, the ease of generating ads gets better; however, the expectation for high quality still stays high. Like human-generated advertisements using attention-grabbing visuals and humor, consumers apply the same standards to AI ads, meaning creativity, humor, and visual quality remain key to capturing attention. In fact, people have even higher expectations from AI-generated content regarding visuals and humor, stemming from the fact that Gen AI is capable of creating atypical or unanticipated images. Furthermore, for Gen Z, tailored ads responding to their interests also have a positive impact.
- Difference in Trust Among Generations: The data demonstrates that there is a difference in consumer trust towards brands using AI ads between Gen Z and Millenials. A third of Gen Z participants report lack of trust in those companies, whereas this percentage is much less for Millennials: only 23%. Millennials, overall, appear more indifferent, with nearly half stating that AI-generated ads have no impact on their trust (Navarro, 2025).
Conclusion
These findings illustrate that perceptions of Generation Z about AI-generated influencers and content are highly ambivalent. This generation reflects high levels of interest and openness toward advanced digital technologies. However, they also express a notable degree of skepticism toward AI-driven influencers and advertisements, meaning that digital natives are not always digitally inclined. In spite of some critical approaches, AI-generated content continues to capture attention, particularly when it aligns with Gen Z’s expectations for creativity, humor, and visual appeal. Moving forward, brands aiming to leverage AI tools in their marketing strategies must carefully balance technological innovation with the core values Gen Z expects from digital content: authenticity, relevance, and transparency. Understanding and responding to these nuanced preferences will be essential for fostering meaningful connections with this influential generation in an increasingly AI-driven media environment.
References
Barbe, D., Neuburger, L. (2021). Generation Z and Digital Influencers in the Tourism Industry. In: Stylos, N., Rahimi, R., Okumus, B., Williams, S. (eds) Generation Z Marketing and Management in Tourism and Hospitality. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-70695-1_7
Dixon, S. J. (2023, May 22). U.S social media daily engagement 2022, by generation. Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1366903/us-gen-z-adults-daily-social-media-usage/
Ferraro, C., Sands, S., Zubcevic-Basic, N., & Campbell, C. (2024). Diversity in the digital age: how consumers respond to diverse virtual influencers. International Journal of Advertising, 43(8), 1342-1365.
Kholkina, V., Chesnokova, E. and Zelenskaya, E. (2025), “Virtual or human? The impact of the influencer type on Gen Z consumer outcomes”, Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol. 34 No. 1, pp. 104-118. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-12-2023-4885
Singer, M. F., Callendar, C. L., Ma, X., & Tham, S. M. (2023). Differences in perceived influencer authenticity: a comparison of Gen Z and Millennials’ definitions of influencer authenticity during the de-influencer movement. Online Media and Global Communication, 2(3), 351-378.
Soave, R., & Eder, D. (2024, July 22). 1 in 3 gen Z feel negatively about virtual influencers… here’s how brands should use AI. Innovation in Business. https://www.innovationinbusiness.com/1-in-3-gen-z-feel-negatively-about-virtual-influencers-heres-how-brands-should-use-ai/
Sprout Social. (2024, April 25). New Research Reveals Influencers Significantly Drive Purchasing Decisions. Sprout Social. https://sproutsocial.com/insights/press/new-research-reveals-influencers-significantly-drive-purchasing-decisions/
Williamson, D. A., & Koch, J. (2024, December 9). The Ai Ad Gap: Why Young Consumers aren’t yet buying into Gen Ai ads. IAB. https://www.iab.com/insights/why-young-consumers-avoid-gen-ai-ads/#:~:text=Gen%20Zers%20are%20less%20likely,more%20discerning%20and%20critical%20of
