Mapping AI’s Evolving Impact on Communication Research: A Systematic Review of Thematic Patterns and Theoretical Foundations

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into communication research has spurred interdisciplinary exploration, reshaping traditional frameworks and opening new avenues of inquiry. While AI's role in communication studies is increasingly prominent, questions remain about how knowledge is distributed across sub-fields and which theoretical frameworks dominate. This study addresses these gaps by systematically mapping the thematic structure, central concepts, and theoretical foundations of AI-related research within the communication field. Employing a combination of topic modeling and network analysis on a comprehensive dataset of publications, we identified key research themes such as the role of AI in media production, user behavior, and governance. Large language models (LLMs) were utilized to extract central theoretical applications from abstracts and full texts. The findings highlight evolving theoretical frameworks, AI’s growing influence across communication sub-fields, and the interdisciplinary scope of this research. These insights contribute to a deeper understanding of how AI is transforming communication studies and offer valuable directions for future research.