Qualitative Evaluation of the Academic Reflections of Artificial Intelligence Applications in the Fields of Communication and Public Relations

Artificial Intelligence (AI), as in various other fields, is causing significant changes in the fields of communication and public relations by modernizing traditional methods and tools. AI applications, which have evolved with technological advancements, introduce new tools that make communication processes more efficient and effective, enabling both time and resource savings. Notably, comprehensive data analyses and the ability to understand target audience behaviors, along with continuous communication opportunities provided by automated response systems and chatbots, are particularly striking. In this context, the new opportunities that AI brings to the fields of communication and public relations are creating positive impacts in current sectoral practices and are also being reflected in academic studies conducted in the field. This study is a descriptive research aimed at examining academic studies on artificial intelligence in the fields of communication and public relations published in journals included in the Dergi Park system. The sample of the study consists of articles published in the Dergi Park system between 1990 and 2023, identified using the keywords communication-artificial intelligence and public relations-artificial intelligence. Data were analyzed using the MAXQDA20 software. The analysis of the study is based on a systematic and interpretive approach that considers the titles, abstracts, keywords, publication years, publication languages, research methods used, and the authors' fields of study. According to the findings, a total of 32 articles on communication, public relations, and artificial intelligence were identified, and it was determined that the majority of these articles were conducted using a qualitative research approach. The research findings indicate that the number of academic studies published on artificial intelligence has increased over the years, but the total number of published articles remains insufficient. Additionally, among the communication subtopics associated with artificial intelligence, public relations stands out as a diverse and multidimensional field, with the most intensive studies found in the areas of corporate communication, crisis communication, and reputation management, respectively.