Analysis of artificial intelligence technological patents through technological prospecting

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a strategic technology, driving transformations across digital, industrial, and service sectors and intensifying global patenting activity. Patent analysis offers valuable insights into technological evolution, competitive positioning, and patterns of intellectual property appropriation. This study aims to analyze the temporal evolution, technological focus, and geographic distribution of AI-related patent documents, identifying dominant technologies, leading countries, and ownership strategies. The methodology is based on technological prospection using patent documents published between 2004 and 2025. A quantitative and qualitative analysis was conducted, considering publication trends, International Patent Classification (IPC) subgroups, applicants, inventors, countries of origin, and patent family languages, supported by descriptive statistics and graphical analysis. The results show an exponential growth in AI patenting from 2016, peaking in 2020 and followed by stabilization, indicating technological maturation. Patent activity is highly concentrated in the United States and East Asian countries, particularly South Korea and Japan. Technologically, patents are predominantly related to speech and audio processing, natural language technologies, human–machine interfaces, and intelligent data processing systems. The predominance of English reflects strategies focused on international protection, while Asian languages indicate strong domestic innovation combined with global expansion. The study concludes that AI innovation and patent ownership remain concentrated in countries with mature innovation ecosystems, highlighting structural asymmetries in global knowledge generation and intellectual property appropriation.