The evolution and future directions of AI in digital marketing within the banking sector

The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) is changing digital marketing in the banking sector. The need to engage with consumers in a personalized, dynamic, and automated way has become a pressing requirement now that institutions that were formerly traditional, product-oriented are shifting to dynamic, customer-centric approaches. Although the field is growing rapidly in terms of technology, extensive syntheses of the new field are still in their early stages. Therefore, this study seeks to develop a systematic synthesis on the development, modern trends, and themes of AI use in digital marketing in the banking sector. Using a PRISMA-compliant systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis, a strict search was conducted in the Scopus and Web of Science databases, which returned 107 articles. After meeting the inclusion criteria, a final sample of 47 peer-reviewed journal articles, conference papers, book chapters, and review articles was selected for detailed assessment. The discussion reveals a big shift towards data-based, advanced marketing strategies. Besides, the bibliometric synthesis identifies major thematic groups that are currently prevalent in the academic world. These clusters include customer engagement, machine-learning-based customer segmentation and predictive analytics, automation and service personalization via chatbots, and advanced applications leveraging deep learning and recommendation systems. By leveraging these technologies together, banking institutions can provide more personalized communications, anticipate consumer behavior, and operate more efficiently. But, since this is a relatively new and emerging area of research, there are still critical gaps. The results point to the pressing needs of increased explainability of models that use AI, effective EAI principles about data privacy, and dynamic, real-time systems that cohesively adapt automated efficiency with human compassion. Finally, this research offers a theoretical basis for scholars and practical implications for practitioners, which can guide them in developing strategies to address the challenges of AI while sustaining consumer trust and regulatory adherence in the banking sector.