This study maps the rise of AI-driven digital marketing in higher education and how it shapes college choices.

Universities use digital marketing to recruit students, but researchers have looked at artificial intelligence acceptance and student recruitment separately. The authors wanted to see how studies connect AI tools to a student's choice to attend a college. They gathered and mapped 430 academic papers published from 2022 to 2026. The researchers tracked keywords, subject fields, and countries to see what topics connect across the field. They found that research on this topic surged quickly, with most papers published in the last two years. Core ideas like artificial intelligence and how people accept technology dominate the papers. However, actual enrolment decisions, student recruitment, and digital trust are barely studied. China published the most papers on the topic. The authors suggest schools should test if tools like chatbots and virtual tours build real trust, rather than just tracking how much people click on them.

Why it matters

For high school students and their families, understanding how colleges use AI in marketing—like chatbots and virtual tours—can help them see through engagement metrics to what really matters: perceived authenticity and trust. For university administrators, the research makes clear that AI tools must be evaluated on their effect on trust, not just clicks. The study also shows that research on this topic has exploded in the last two years, especially in Asia and the Middle East, suggesting a global shift in how universities compete for students.

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