Artificial Intelligence in Project Management: A Systematic Review of Applications, Challenges, and Future Directions

Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a transformative technology in project management, offering advanced capabilities for data-driven decision-making, predictive analytics, and process automation. This study presents a systematic literature review of AI applications in project management, focusing on peer-reviewed journal articles published between 2015 and 2021. A total of 25 relevant studies were selected following PRISMA guidelines and analyzed using both thematic and bibliometric approaches. The findings reveal that AI is predominantly applied in areas such as project scheduling, cost estimation, risk management, safety monitoring, and project portfolio selection, with a strong concentration in construction project management. Machine learning and deep learning techniques are widely used, enabling enhanced prediction accuracy and real-time monitoring. The thematic analysis highlights key benefits, including improved efficiency, better decision-making, and enhanced safety performance. However, significant challenges remain, particularly related to data quality, model interpretability, organizational readiness, and ethical concerns. The bibliometric analysis further demon