Can AI be a Scholar? A Systematic Review on the Role of Generative AI in Systematic Literature Reviews

Research output: Contribution to conferencesPaperContributedpeer-review

Contributors

Abstract

Systematic literature reviews (SLRs) are foundational for research but resource-intensive to conduct. With the rise of large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT, generative AI (GenAI) tools are being increasingly explored for their potential to support and transform the SLR process. This study presents a systematic review of peerreviewed articles that examine how LLM-based GenAI tools are used in different SLR phases. Following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines, we screened 1,846 publications published since January 2021 until April 2025 and selected 54 for in-depth analysis. Each study was coded by review phase, prompting approach, automation level, validation type and challenges. Our findings show that GenAI is most often used to support in the screening, search, and writing phases, typically through Basic Prompting and under human oversight. While many studies report efficiency gains, concerns remain regarding validity, transparency, and methodological rigor. Moreover, GenAI is frequently applied to isolated tasks but is rarely embedded in a structured, methodologically guided review processhighlighting the need for clearer phase-specific guidance and standards. We offer a structured, phase-specific synthesis that highlights both the promise and the current limitations of GenAI in literature reviews and thereby offer practical recommendations for the responsible use of GenAI in literature reviews.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages1-11
Number of pages11
Publication statusPublished - 2025
Peer-reviewedYes

Conference

Title27th IEEE International Conference on Business Informatics
Abbreviated titleIEEE CBI 2025
Conference number27
Descriptionco-located with the 29th International Conference on Enterprise Design, Operations, and Computing (EDOC 2025)
Duration9 September 2025 - 12 January 2026
Website
Degree of recognitionInternational event
LocationHoliday Inn Lisbon
CityLisbon
CountryPortugal

External IDs

ORCID /0000-0002-9465-9679/work/201624359
Scopus 105032051477

Keywords

Research priority areas of TU Dresden

DFG Classification of Subject Areas according to Review Boards

Sustainable Development Goals

Keywords

  • AIassisted Literature Review, Automation, Business, ChatGPT, Chatbots, Evidence Synthesis, Generative AI, Guidelines, Informatics, Large Language Models, Large language models, Standards, Systematic Literature Review, Systematic literature review, Transforms, AIassisted Literature Review, ChatGPT, Evidence Synthesis, Generative AI, Large Language Models, Systematic Literature Review