During the last decade, a paradigm shift can be observed in digital marketing as the influencer marketing landscape evolves. The Concept of virtual influencers (VIs) sheds light as a notion within this shift. These Vis challenge foundational assumptions of Source Credibility Theory by lacking lived experience and authentic human qualities; thus, it is evident that Vis must be effectively engaged with customers (followers). This systematic literature review synthesizes findings from influencer marketing, parasocial theory, consumer behaviour, and creator marketing to demarcate its role in facilitating consumer decision journeys. The results of the synthesized literature indicate that parasocial interactions better explain the audience’s connection with VIs than the Source Credibility Theory. It is postulated that human influencers are perceived as trustworthy due to their authenticity, whereas VIs sustain influence through content curation. The study further explores the potential for VIs to transition into creator-marketers, leveraging content-driven engagement and direct monetization over the influencer marketer role and outperforming at the top of the customer decision journey. Alongside audience engagement and endorsement, dynamics emerge as key to the longevity of the influence. Academic investigations into VIs as independent content entities are limited. This review highlights this deficiency and suggests a research framework for examining the potential of VIs to transition from their influencer role to content creators, facilitating the customer decision journey.