Generative AI-Enabled Student Support Services in Higher Education: A Systematic Review of Emerging Applications and Evidence (2022–2025)

Abstract

The rapid integration of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) into higher education student support services—including academic advising, personalised tutoring, and administrative assistance—offers significant operational benefits but raises critical concerns about equity, ethics, governance, and psychosocial impacts. This systematic review, conducted following the PRISMA 2020 framework, synthesises 47 empirical studies published between 2022 and 2025 from Scopus, ERIC, and Web of Science, addressing three research questions: technological approaches, student experiences, and implementation challenges. Findings indicate that GenAI enhances service efficiency, accessibility, and personalisation through retrieval-augmented generation, fine-tuned large language models, knowledge-enhanced systems, and predictive intervention models. However, persistent challenges include hallucinations, algorithmic bias, privacy risks, cultural misadaptation, and a lack of longitudinal outcome evaluations. Notably, the review identifies an AI-mediated social substitution effect, whereby excessive reliance on GenAI may weaken interpersonal connections and diminish students' sense of belonging. In response, we propose a hierarchical human–AI collaborative governance framework that positions GenAI as an augmentative tool rather than a replacement for human expertise, underscoring the necessity of balancing technological innovation with educational equity, ethical oversight, and meaningful human interaction.