Purpose <p>The influence of artificial intelligence (AI) on society has become a hot topic of discussion as it is being incorporated into academics and other fields. With the growing adoption of AI, this article focuses on a critical comparison between AI-driven insights and human intelligence in understanding complex issues. Specifically, it explores whether AI alone can effectively shape research agendas on the intersection of digitalization and international trade, or if human expertise remains indispensable.</p> Design/methodology/approach <p>This study employs a comparative framework, comparing AI-generated insights on digitalization and international trade (via ChatGPT) with key perspectives derived from a comprehensive review of human-generated academic literature.</p> Findings <p>The findings reveal that while AI can significantly enhance research efficiency and streamline access to information, it falls short of fully replacing human intelligence. AI proves inadequate in delivering in-depth and comprehensive evaluations, particularly in complex fields like the interplay between digitalization and international trade. The analysis underscores that while human intelligence remains sufficient for conducting rigorous research, AI serves as an efficient but ultimately insufficient tool for fully analysing the intricate dynamics of digitalization and trade.</p> Originality <p>This study uniquely investigates the comparative strengths and weaknesses of AI-generated versus human-generated insights, to evaluate the relationship between digitalization and international trade.</p>