This study examined the effects of virtual influencers(VIs)’ anthropomorphic attributes on social media users’ liking and intention to follow VIs, as well as the moderating role of heuristic-systematic information processing. An online survey with 394 participants revealed three dimensions of anthropomorphism: relational communication, attractive appearance, and lifelike movement. Among these, relational communication and attractive appearance had significant positive effects on liking and follow intention, with liking mediating the relationship between these attributes and follow intention. Regarding information processing, higher levels of heuristic processing strengthened the positive effects of relational communication and attractive appearance on liking, whereas systematic processing showed no moderating effect. These findings suggest that consumers rely more on heuristic rather than systematic processing when evaluating the anthropomorphic attributes of VIs. In other words, users tend to interpret VI’s content not on the basis of logical or factual accuracy, but through intuitive cues such as emotional resonance and visual appeal.