<p>Virtual streamers are common in commercial marketing. However, few studies have explored the role of virtual streamer controlling entities in consumers’ purchase decisions. Grounded in the mental perception and self-construal theory, this study employs three experiments (<i>N</i> = 680) to explore the interaction effects of virtual streamer controlling entities (artificial synthetic vs. artificial intelligence) and product sensitivity (high-sensitivity products vs. low-sensitivity products) on consumers’ purchase intentions. The results show that interaction of virtual streamer controlling entities and product sensitivity help activate purchase intentions. Moreover, artificial synthetic virtual streamers that recommend low-sensitivity products and artificial intelligence virtual streamers that recommend high-sensitivity products significantly influence consumer purchase intentions. Mental perception (autonomous recognition and emotional perception) plays a mediating role in this relationship. Additionally, self-construal types actively moderate the interaction effect between virtual streamer controlling entities and product sensitivity through mental perception, which in turn increases consumer purchase intention. This study enriches the research on virtual streamers in livestreaming commerce, and provides insights for enterprises to controlling entities’ selection and product type matching when virtual streamers sell goods.</p>