From generativity to governance: Reframing co-creation in the artificial intelligence-metaverse era

This study conducts a scoping review of publications to examine the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI), the metaverse, and co-creation. While prior research has addressed either the technical capabilities of AI or the immersive affordances of the metaverse, systematic syntheses explaining how these technologies jointly enable value co-creation remain limited. Guided by PRISMA-ScR, this review maps 76 studies and develops a synthesis-based, integrative four-layer framework. The analysis identifies key gaps, including limited empirical validation, lack of standardized measurement tools, insufficient attention to social-psychological impacts, and fragmented theoretical integration. In response, the study conceptualizes AI-metaverse co-creation across four interrelated layers: (1) content, where generative AI enables personalization and predictive adaptation; (2) social, where avatars and communities co-construct authenticity and branding; (3) civic-learning, where immersive environments support experiential learning and participatory governance; and (4) governance, where ethics, inclusion, and hybrid intelligence shape sustainable digital ecosystems. The study advances co-creation theory by reconceptualizing AI-metaverse co-creation as a multi-level, governance-embedded process rather than a classificatory synthesis. It further integrates generative infrastructure, AI-mediated participation, capability development, and governance dynamics into a theory-building framework that can guide future empirical operationalization and interdisciplinary research.