The role of generative AI in facilitating children's creative thinking and cognitive development: a systematic scoping review

Abstract

Background Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) has reshaped STEAM education, with growing interest in its use to enhance children's creative thinking a key cognitive development component. However, systematic synthesis of GenAI's application in child-centered creative learning remains limited. This scoping review explores GenAI's roles, effects, challenges, and future directions. Methods This study follows JBI guidance and is reported in accordance with PRISMA-ScR. Searches were conducted in July 2025 and updated in May 2026 across Web of Science, Scopus, ERIC, APA PsycInfo, ACM Digital Library, ProQuest, and Google Scholar. Publication status and evidence-source type were charted explicitly. Results Twenty-four evidence sources were included: 22 primary empirical studies and two secondary syntheses used only for contextual interpretation. Text-based LLMs and multimodal text/image tools predominated. The primary studies reported possible benefits for divergent thinking, narrative creativity, and creative self-efficacy, but the heterogeneous designs, absence of formal critical appraisal, and inclusion of preprints preclude conclusions about confirmed efficacy. Conclusion The emerging evidence suggests that carefully facilitated GenAI may support some forms of children's creative activity, but the evidence base is small, methodologically heterogeneous, geographically concentrated, and partly non-peer-reviewed. Claims about effectiveness, scalability, and equity therefore remain provisional. Future research should use stronger comparative and longitudinal designs and directly include rural, underserved, and low-resource communities before GenAI is presented as a democratizing intervention.