Chatbots in Higher Education: A Bibliometric Analysis Based on VOSviewer

The integration of chatbots into higher education presents both opportunities and challenges, particularly in enhancing student engagement and academic support, driven by the rapid rise of artificial intelligence. Despite their potential, chatbots face significant hurdles in fully adapting to the complex educational landscape. Research on chatbots in higher education remains an evolving field, with few studies systematically examining this area through bibliometric analysis. This study aims to map out the key areas of focus and current developments of chatbots in higher education by analyzing publications in Scopus from 1st January 2015 to 6th April 2025. Using VOSviewer, various aspects are visualized and analyzed, including countries, authors, references, and keywords to provide insights into chatbots in higher education settings. This analysis will assist educators, policymakers and researchers in becoming familiar with chatbots in shaping teaching methodologies and educational strategies, and provide support in developing a roadmap to leverage chatbot technologies to improve academic outcomes in higher education settings.