The Rise of Digital Tutors: A Bibliometric Exploration of Intelligent Agent‐Supported Language Learning From 2005 to 2025

ABSTRACT The integration of intelligent agents into language education has fundamentally reshaped the landscape of English language learning, enabling personalised, adaptive and emotionally responsive instruction across diverse learning contexts. While the proliferation of agent‐based technologies, such as chatbots, virtual tutors and embodied pedagogical agents, has generated substantial academic interest, a systematic mapping of this evolving research domain remains lacking. This study conducts a longitudinal bibliometric analysis of 774 peer‐reviewed publications from 2005 to 2025, with a specific focus on intelligent agent‐supported English language learning. Drawing on data from the Web of Science Core Collection and employing CiteSpace, VOSviewer and Bibliometrix, the study identifies major contributors, collaboration patterns, influential journals, thematic clusters and citation bursts. The analysis reveals three distinct developmental phases—techno‐adaptive (2005–2010), algorithmic (2011–2019) and learner‐centric (2020–2025)—and uncovers persistent geopolitical asymmetries, with China and the United States dominating scholarly output. Notably, research has increasingly shifted from technical feasibility studies to investigations centred on learner affect, intercultural competence and automated assessment in English as a foreign language settings. Despite these advances, ethical concerns, linguistic inclusivity and applications for low‐resource learners remain underexplored. This study provides a comprehensive, data‐driven synthesis of intelligent agent‐supported language learning and offers critical insights to inform future research, pedagogical design and policy development in AI‐enhanced English language education.