From Human Communication to Human–AI Communication: Mapping the Intellectual Structure of AI-Mediated Organizational Communication

Abstract

Artificial intelligence is increasingly embedded in organizational communication processes, enabling new forms of interaction in which human communicators and intelligent systems collaboratively produce and interpret messages. Despite growing scholarly interest, research on artificial intelligence in business communication remains fragmented across disciplines and theoretical perspectives. This study maps and synthesizes the emerging research landscape of AI-mediated organizational communication using a bibliometric approach. Bibliographic data were collected from the Scopus database using a structured search of titles, abstracts, and keywords related to organizational communication, business communication, and artificial intelligence. After applying document-type, language, and manual relevance screening procedures, the final dataset comprised 47 peer-reviewed journal articles. The analysis was conducted using the Bibliometrix R package and VOSviewer to examine publication trends, intellectual structure, and thematic development. In addition to the field-level analysis, the study conducted a journal-focused bibliometric assessment of the International Journal of Business Communication to examine how a leading discipline-defining outlet develops AI-related communication scholarship. The findings identify four major thematic clusters: AI applications in organizational communication systems, generative AI–assisted communication practices, AI-mediated interaction dynamics, and human competencies and governance in AI-enabled communication environments. Based on these results, the study proposes a conceptual framework explaining how AI communication affordances are actualized through human–AI interaction practices in organizations. The findings provide an integrative overview of the field and highlight future research directions for advancing theory and practice in AI-mediated business communication.