From automation to generative artificial intelligence: Human-AI co-creativity in professional communication: A structured literature synthesis

Abstract This study examines the transition from automation to generative AI in professional communication, focusing on human–AI co-creativity. While earlier research framed AI mainly as an efficiency tool, the rapid emergence of generative AI has reconfigured communication practices toward collaborative and co-creative models. This structured literature synthesis, informed by PRISMA reporting principles, synthesizes empirical research published between 2012 and 2026 across journalism, public relations, strategic communication, and digital media, investigating how generative AI is integrated into creative workflows and how communicative agency is distributed between human professionals and AI systems. The results identify four dimensions shaping human–AI co-creativity: (1) AI affordances enabling ideation while introducing constraints such as algorithmic opacity; (2) human professional agency, through which practitioners retain interpretive authority via prompt design; (3) organizational context, structuring AI adoption; and (4) ethical and cultural norms concerning transparency and accountability. The review advances conceptual clarity on human–AI co-creativity as an emergent sociotechnical process, arguing that generative AI is not simply augmenting communication work but fundamentally reshaping how creativity, authorship, and responsibility are enacted. Key Words: Generative Artificial Intelligence, Co-Creativity, Professional Communication, PRISMA, Human–AI Collaboration About the Authors * Tommy Kibera Kiilu, Ph.D., is a Lecturer in the Department of Communication, Media, Film and Theatre Studies at Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya where he was Chairperson of the Department from 2020–2025. He also has industry experience in marketing and brand strategy from Rome. His scholarly work focuses on media studies, development and strategic communication, with particular interest in artificial intelligence in journalism, media ethics, digital transformation, and media literacy. ** Martin Kuria Githinji, Ph.D. is a Lecturer in the Department of Communication, Media, Film, and Theatre Studies at Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya, holding a PhD in Communication Studies and specializing in digital media, strategic, and crisis communication, with particular attention to the Global South. JCMR Journal of Communication and Media Research, Vol. 18, No. 2, October 2026, pp. 15-30. © Association of Media and Communication Researchers of Nigeria (AMCRON). Article Citation Kiilu, T. K. & Githinji, M. K. (2026). From automation to generative artificial intelligence: Human-AI co-creativity in professional communication: A structured literature synthesis. Journal of Communication and Media Research, 18 (2): 15-30. Full Article Words: 8,093 Pages: 16 To access full article, click on download.