Charting the knowledge landscape of artificial intelligence driven personalization and consumer purchase intention in e-commerce: A bibliometric analysis

Abstract

This study presents a systematic bibliometric analysis of the evolving literature on artificial intelligence (AI) driven personalization and its influence on consumer purchase intention within e-commerce environments. Drawing on 279 peer-reviewed, open-access articles indexed in Scopus between 2013 and March 2026, this research maps the intellectual structure of the field through co-citation analysis, co-authorship networks, keyword co-occurrence mapping, and thematic clustering using Biblioshiny and VOSviewer. The dataset exhibits a strong annual growth rate of 27.69%, reflecting the rapid scholarly expansion of AI applications in digital marketing and consumer behavior research. Bibliometric indicators reveal that China, the United Kingdom, and India are the leading contributing nations, while key journals include the Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research, Sustainability, and the Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services. Thematic analysis identifies artificial intelligence, consumer behavior, e-commerce, and purchase intention as established motor and basic themes, while explainable AI, consumer trust, and transparency emerge as nascent research frontiers with growing centrality. The findings further underscore the interdisciplinary character of the field, integrating perspectives from information systems, marketing, and consumer psychology. Technologies including recommender systems, chatbots, and predictive analytics are shown to play pivotal roles in shaping consumer decision-making by reducing information overload and enhancing perceived relevance. The study acknowledges limitations stemming from its restriction to Scopus-indexed, English-language, open-access publications, which may introduce language and database selection bias. Future research is directed toward ethical AI governance, consumer data privacy, cross-cultural personalization, and the integration of emerging regulatory frameworks such as GDPR into personalization strategy design.