<![CDATA[Purpose of the study: In this article, the development of research on the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in supporting social innovation over the period 2005-2026 is systematically mapped, covering applications, societal impact, ethical challenges, and future research directions.Methodology: This study combines a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines with bibliometric analysis. Data were collected from the Scopus database using four keyword combinations related to Artificial Intelligence, social innovation, social sustainability, and societal impact, yielding 101 initial records; after duplicate removal with OpenRefine, 90 documents were analyzed with Bibliometrix/Biblioshiny and VOSviewer, and 39 of them were further processed with Elicit AI.Main Findings: Publications increased sharply, peaking in 2025 with 32 articles. Systematic literature reviews (25.6%) and conceptual studies (12.8%) dominate the literature, while quantitative/experimental studies, mixed methods, and model/simulation development each account for 12.8%. The reviewed studies address AI applications in smart city governance, community economic empowerment, education, health, and environmental sustainability, and highlight ethical challenges such as algorithmic bias, the digital divide, and the lack of participatory governance frameworks.Novelty/Originality of this study: This study integrates bibliometric analysis with a systematic literature review to comprehensively map the relationship between Artificial Intelligence and social innovation, offering an integrated overview of publication trends, thematic clusters, research gaps, and future directions that can serve researchers, policymakers, and practitioners designing evidence-based, responsible AI-driven social innovation strategies.]]>
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