2026/07/29 by Chuhan Bai, Esther Mercado García
Medicine · Psychology · Social Sciences · #Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare and Education #Digital Mental Health Interventions #Social Work Education and Practice
paper · doi:10.1177/10497315261469433
openalex publication_date 2026/07/29 · openalex created_date 2026/07/30 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
The rapid growth of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) has led to a new paradigm shift across professions. Social work, which is grounded in relational ethics and judgment, is at a crossroads of technology and professional values. Purpose: The scoping review aims to map the current landscape of GenAI adoption by frontline social workers in active practice. Method: This scoping review was conducted according to the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology. Four databases were systematically searched using the PCC (Population, Concept, and Context) framework to identify studies published between 2018 and 2026. A total of 133 papers were examined, of which seven studies met the inclusion criteria. Results: The scoping review identified four main areas of GenAI adoption in social work practices: administrative workflow and documentation support, assessment and clinical decision support, client engagement and public health outreach, and professional development and supervision. Findings indicate that GenAI can significantly reduce administrative burdens and support structured assessment workflows, but practitioners across many countries have a healthy resistance to full automation. Key concerns include the empathy gap in client communication, loss of professional discretion, and digital depersonalization. Conclusion: The scoping review concludes that in social work, the adoption of GenAI should emphasize augmentation rather than automation. It should be ethically integrated to apply a domain-specific, secure AI based on empathy and human dignity. Future research should focus on longitudinal client outcomes, the evaluation of the AI tools in practice, and professional guidelines for AI-aided decision-making.