Exploring the Nexus: A Systematic Literature Review on Meta-Influencers in Immersive Brand Engagement

Virtual Reality (VR) technology develops new, engaging ways for digital marketing to reach consumers through immersive environments. The rise of meta-influencers represents a fresh approach to marketing through influencers because these virtual personas can interact with customers in virtual spaces. For the purpose of this review, we define meta-influencers as AI-powered virtual influencers, typically hyper-realistic avatars or digital humans operating within immersive VR environments to influence consumer behaviour and brand engagement. The use of meta-influencers or virtual influencers presents organisations with improved scalability and managed promotional efforts, along with two major challenges regarding authenticity and privacy risks in data collection. Positive engagement between consumers and VR environments depends on the application of social presence components alongside gamification elements and digital rewards like NFTs. This study analyses 18 peer-reviewed studies regarding meta-influencers in VR marketing by using the PICO framework (Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome) to examine their influence on customer engagement as well as brand loyalty and immersive brand experiences. The study shows the requirement for ethical AI approaches to develop influencers together with standardised data protocols, which resolve emerging technological and moral problems in the AI domain. This study also proposed a conceptual model based on the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) framework to explain how meta-influencers shape consumer perceptions and behaviour in VR, helping consumers make purchasing decisions and encouraging long-term brand loyalty through immersive interactions.