{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,30]],"date-time":"2026-09-30T06:56:03Z","timestamp":1790751363871,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":42,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,30]],"date-time":"2026-09-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1790726400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>AI virtual opinion leaders are increasingly used in health communication, but it remains unclear whether bundled anthropomorphic-cue packages foster initial trust and information-adoption intention when AI identity is explicitly disclosed.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Guided by the Computers Are Social Actors paradigm, Social Presence Theory, Source Credibility Theory, and the Information Adoption Model, we conducted a single-factor between-subjects randomized experiment comparing overall high- and low-anthropomorphic-cue packages. The packages differed simultaneously in avatar realism, gesture behavior, interpersonal\/linguistic framing, and video duration; AI disclosure and the response-button structure were held constant. A total of 536 valid responses were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling. Social presence, source credibility, trust, and adoption intention were measured by participant self-report immediately after a single branched-video exposure.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The overall high-versus-low package contrast increased social presence. Social presence was positively associated with source credibility; source credibility was positively associated with trust in AI-generated health information; and information trust was positively associated with health information adoption intention. The direct effect of the package contrast on information trust was not significant, whereas the bootstrapped serial indirect effect through social presence and source credibility was significant.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Within the present Chinese sample and single-exposure setting, the randomized contrast supports an effect of the overall cue package on initial social presence, while the mediation estimates are consistent with the hypothesized indirect pathway to information trust. The design cannot identify the independent contribution of any visual, gestural, linguistic, vocal, interactive, or duration component. The outcome is self-reported adoption intention, not observed health behavior.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1938022","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,30]],"date-time":"2026-09-30T06:05:14Z","timestamp":1790748314000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["High- versus low-anthropomorphic-cue packages and health-information trust: social presence and source credibility under explicit AI disclosure"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Shaohua","family":"Huo","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Journalism and Communication School, Qilu Institute of Technology","place":["Jinan, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhenfen","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Journalism and Communication School, Qilu Institute of Technology","place":["Jinan, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yuqi","family":"Lin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Journalism and Communication School, Qilu Institute of Technology","place":["Jinan, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"115647","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jbusres.2025.115647","article-title":"Virtual influencers: definition and future research directions","volume":"200","author":"Audrezet","year":"2025","journal-title":"J Bus Res"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"103797","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jretconser.2024.103797","article-title":"Virtually human: anthropomorphism in virtual influencer marketing","volume":"79","author":"Dabiran","year":"2024","journal-title":"J Retail Consum Serv"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e46548","DOI":"10.2196\/46548","article-title":"Factors influencing the acceptability, acceptance, and adoption of conversational agents in health care: integrative review","volume":"25","author":"Wutz","year":"2023","journal-title":"J Med Internet Res"},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"108778","DOI":"10.1016\/j.chb.2025.108778","article-title":"From pixels to action: virtual influencers promoting pro-environmental behavior through anthropomorphism, credibility, and strategic messaging","volume":"173","author":"Liu","year":"2025","journal-title":"Comput Hum Behav"},{"key":"ref5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1767975","DOI":"10.3389\/fcomm.2026.1767975","article-title":"The detachment of responsibility: how and when AI-powered digital avatars undermine behavioral intentions in cancer screening persuasion","volume":"11","author":"Wang","year":"2026","journal-title":"Front Commun"},{"key":"ref6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"A03","DOI":"10.22323\/2.24020203","article-title":"Balancing realism and trustworthiness: AI avatars in science communication","volume":"24","author":"Baake","year":"2025","journal-title":"J Sci Commun"},{"key":"ref7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"3","DOI":"10.5817\/CP2025-2-3","article-title":"Artificial presence, real-life influence? 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