It really took some settling down on my part to "get" this.
I used to have conversations with the AV - until I recognized It was baiting me.
I used to try to ignore the AV - until I recognized that it would not be silenced by "trying" to ignore It.
I used to tell me AV to shut up - until I recognized that I was giving it power by being confrontational.
Of late, I am not employing any strategy at all with regard to controlling, manipulating or refuting It. I acknowledge it's presence when it comes along and then I Quite Deliberately put It aside. It's somewhat akin to ignoring my cat who puts up a fuss sometimes when I walk into the kitchen. She (the cat) is somewhat predictable with her meowing, so I am prepared for those times and I hardly react at all because I expect her to carry on. Other times, I've forgotten that she will carry on, so I might say something dismissively, but it doesn't bother me or worry me that the silly beast thinks she should be fed something simply because I'm there.
The beast is a real phenomena, created and nurtured by my continued drinking. There is a part of me that wants to drink and probably always will. It does not think, nor does It control me. But It is a feeling/desire/compulsion that I recognize within myself and that is ALL it is.