How Does Artificial Intelligence Affect E-Commerce Applied in Online Shopping? A Bibliometric Study

In the context of e-commerce, retailers increasingly employ big data and advanced technologies, including generative artificial intelligence, to better respond to customer demands and enhance competitive advantage. Over the past three decades, extensive research has examined the role of artificial intelligence in e-commerce. However, a systematic synthesis of these studies and their thematic evolution remains limited. This study develops a structured review framework to analyze the effects of artificial intelligence in e-commerce based on 51 articles retrieved from the Web of Science database spanning January 1975 to November 2023. The review reveals that existing research predominantly concentrates on recommender system design, factors influencing customer perceptions of system use, and the impact of artificial intelligence on customer behavior and business performance. In contrast, the influence of artificial intelligence on online customer reviews has received comparatively little scholarly attention. Drawing on prior research related to online reviews; a new analytical framework is proposed to identify major themes and delineate three key research gaps concerning the effects of artificial intelligence on online customer reviews. Based on these gaps, future research directions are outlined. Two potential research questions are further proposed, and the theoretical contributions and practical implications of this research stream are discussed.