Conversational AI chatbots research: unveiling evolutionary trends and thematic clusters using bibliometric analysis

The study highlights the foundational research and trends in conversational artificial intelligence chatbots in marketing, examining their applications and identifying research gaps. Bibliometrix R package is used to merge Scopus and Web of Science datasets. Subsequently, a bibliometric analysis was performed on 279 articles using the Bibliometrix R package. The study's key outcomes encompass the prominent authors, institutions, countries, journals, documents, references, thematic clusters and prospective areas for further study. The past two years stand out as the most productive years, with a significant volume of publications. Swansea University emerges as the leading institution in this study area, with the UK being the leading country. Bibliographic coupling analysis identified four thematic clusters: human-AI interaction and perception, chatbots and customer experience, adoption and trust in AI technologies, strategic implementation and sector-specific AI applications, and conversational AI's ethical, social, and policy implications.