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Perfect avatars are scary, the risk of Matrix syndrome

Polimi research reveals the effectiveness of virtual creatures as long as they are not perceived as infallible: being almost human in behaviour works, but in appearance creates rejection in consumers

by Giampaolo Colletti and Fabio Grattagliano

3 July 2025

4' min read

4' min read

Out with the mere shopping of yesteryear for flesh-and-blood consumers only. Unbridled shopping also conquers the smartphone and the fashion of the moment is to dress one's avatar. So thought the American fashion giant Coach, born in a small family workshop in Manhattan in 1941 and now with a turnover of $5 billion. The 'Find Your Courage' campaign stars the virtual human Imma. The message calls for the courage to be real by crossing virtual worlds. The collection invites users to dress their avatars in the latest designs and has landed on Roblox and Zepeto.

Far from being a sporadic phenomenon. The Pandora's box now uncovered tells of an exponential growth of these non-real figures inhabiting screens and everyday life. The last two years have seen an explosion of avatars, with a projection of 270 billion dollars by 2030. A market that rewrites the rules of influencer marketing and is already worth $10 billion in America alone. However, Europe is not standing on the sidelines: already more than 60% of top European brands adopt virtual influencers in their campaigns.

The age of the avatar overturns storytelling and relationships. This is what emerges from the Reuters Institute report, which highlights the Matrix syndrome: more and more young people are using ChatGpt and other artificial intelligence systems to inform themselves, seeing the new technology as neutral and the world as a digital simulation. Meanwhile, this year Bmw launched a virtual avatar on its website to guide users in choosing models and financial plans and Nike integrated customisable avatars into the metaverse for virtual shopping.

Between man and machine

But there is more. Today, these figures increasingly take the place of flesh-and-blood creators and become so human-like that they seem real. But when they are not in behaviour (even fallible behaviour) they can create disorientation. This is the uncanny valley phenomenon, a theory introduced by Masahiro Mori and describing the feeling of unease or revulsion that people experience when confronted with objects or entities that resemble humans but are not quite like them. "As robots become more like humans, they seem more familiar and acceptable to us. But the similarity causes disquiet, almost repulsion. It is the uncanny valley,' Mori wrote back in 1970.

"It is the paradox of resemblance: the more realistic an avatar is, the more uneasy it is in some cases when perceived as almost human. This is why a robot like R2-D2 from Star Wars does not disturb us, while the Visitors, humanoid reptiles that can pretend to be human, are scary. The principle also seems to apply in business: behaving almost like humans is perceived as progress, while wanting to appear human and be recognised as almost human creates rejection. Beware, however, that the uncanny valley is not a golden rule, but a tendency of a part of the population,' says Lucio Lamberti, Professor of Marketing at the Polimi School Of Management and Scientific Director of the Behavioral Research in Immersive Environment Lab at the Department of Engineering Management of the Politecnico di Milano.

All this emerges from the new research carried out as part of the Virtual Influencer Effectiveness project promoted by the School of Management of the Politecnico di Milano, which mapped hundreds of young adults aged between 18 and 35 years exposed to advertising content conveyed by avatars. Objective: to understand the mechanisms that lead to the formation of influence reports on consumption choices. Behaviour counts more than physical appearance in the bond with the virtual agent and all this reinforces parasocial relationships, i.e. unilateral emotional bonds in which the user develops a sense of closeness or familiarity with the agent as if it were real. What matters is not the physical resemblance to the human, but rather the way they behave in interaction with the user. Data show that 63% of users who perceive the avatar as similar to a human develop a relationship comparable to that with a real person. But it rises to 77% when the agent displays credible human behaviour such as natural facial expressions, gestures and verbal interaction.

Hunting for balance

"The first results we are collecting show that being almost human in behaviour tends to work better in business terms than being almost human in appearance. Virtual assistants are perceived as potentially useful, while faces and bodies that pretend to be human and prove not to be, if discovered create forms of repulsion. It follows that the key words are transparency and human intelligence. Brands must declare when they use artificial entities, focus on unambiguous aesthetics, use clear disclaimers and give the avatar a role so that it is perceived as an actor with a clear and defined purpose in the game. And they must always remember that common sense, originality and human-centric vision cannot be left to machines,' Lamberti points out.

Human avatars driveengagement: users who consider the agent credible are 62% more likely to choose the recommended product and 74% more likely to recommend it to others. "Today, companies are looking at two directions: the hyper-personalisation of customer service and the simplification of the product search process. The main risk for consumers is the loss of autonomy in purchasing choices, a phenomenon known as psychological reactance," says Michele Di Dalmazi, researcher at the School of Management of the Politecnico di Milano. For organisations and consumers alike, it is an evolution in purchasing behaviour. "Consumers will become more and more accustomed to these fluid and assisted experiences until they can no longer do without them. But the issue of psychological reactance reminds us that brands have to manage the use of these systems very carefully," says Di Dalmazi.

Fabio GrattaglianoCapo Servizio
- @ilgrattacapo
- LinkedIn
Luogo: Milano
Lingue parlate: italiano, inglese
Argomenti: comunicazione, marketing, digital transformation
Premi: Assorel
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