Research trends on AI applications in art and design education: a bibliometric study

Given the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) in education, this study investigates how AI has been integrated into art and design education through a bibliometric analysis. Seventy-seven peer-reviewed articles indexed in Web of Science and Scopus (1984–2024) were analysed using VOSviewer, Bibliometrix and CiteSpace to map publication trends, collaboration patterns and evolving research themes. The results show that 80.5% (62/77) of the publications appeared in the last three years, suggesting a three-stage evolution from early technological infrastructure to pedagogical applications and, most recently, generative-AI-driven innovation. China and the United States emerge as central national contributors, yet international collaboration remains concentrated in a few hubs, revealing marked geographical imbalances. Thematic analyses highlight recurring hotspots around AI-supported personalised teaching and assessment, AI-enabled collaborative and studio-based design learning, and generative tools that extend students’ creative processes and human-AI co-creation. Meanwhile, unresolved issues related to data privacy, algorithmic bias, academic integrity and uneven access to AI-related resources pose risks to educational fairness and originality. By mapping the knowledge structure of AI in art and design education, this study offers an evidence base for curricular and policy decisions and highlights capacity building in under-represented regions as a lever for advancing UN Sustainable Development Goal 4.