Generative AI in Global Marketing for Sustainability: A Systematic Review of Creativity, Cultural Adaptation, and Governance

Abstract

Generative AI (GenAI) has emerged in global marketing amid intensifying sustainability regulation and scrutiny. Yet the same generative capabilities that can support the detection of greenwashing may also facilitate its production and dissemination. This systematic review examines how GenAI in marketing is governed for sustainability, integrated into marketing operations, and shaped by cultural context. Following PRISMA 2020, we searched five databases for English-language studies published between January 2020 and May 2026, yielding 77 studies for analysis. Three findings emerge. First, GenAI functions simultaneously as verification and persuasion infrastructure. Because both functions draw on the same generative capability, this duality is structural; its sustainability implications depend on the governance conditions surrounding deployment. Second, cultural adaptation remains underdeveloped: only 9% of studies provide strong evidence on this dimension, Sub-Saharan Africa is absent from the corpus, and Latin America and the Caribbean are represented by a single study. Third, although 77% of studies engage themes relevant to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), only 10% explicitly identify specific goals, with the largest gap concerning SDG 12. By integrating governance, operational deployment, and cultural context, this review identifies the conditions under which GenAI may support or undermine sustainable marketing.