Artificial intelligence (AI) has revolutionised various fields, including paleobotany and palynology. This paper systematically reviews the development and application of AI in these disciplines from the 1980s to 2025. The integration of AI, encompassing expert systems, neural networks, support vector machines, and other machine learning algorithms, has significantly automated a variety of
... [Show full abstract] paleontological research workflows. The application of AI in paleobotany involves multiple aspects such as image classification, image segmentation and prediction. This greatly promotes the process of data‐driven palaeontology. Despite the advancements, key challenges in AI fossil recognition persist, including data scarcity, variability in fossil preservation, and the need for high‐quality training datasets. To address these issues, techniques such as data augmentation, transfer learning, and the use of synthetic data are recommended. Future research should focus on expanding the size and quality of fossil image datasets, integrating advanced image segmentation and predictive techniques, and exploring three‐dimensional model datasets to capture the intricate geometric structures of fossils. The expert and AI collaborative model could prove more efficient and accurate than relying on either manual or automated work alone. At the same time, the use of automated identification systems should not overshadow the importance of academic training in the knowledge domain for these experts. The role of paleobotanists remains not only crucial but also continues to evolve. It is anticipated that the integration of palaeontology and AI will have profound impacts in the coming years and decades, particularly in addressing complex issues that are challenging to resolve using traditional methods. Research using AI in paleobotany and palynology has significant potential for advancing our understanding of paleoecosystems. By addressing current challenges and fostering deeper integration between AI and domain expertise, the field is poised to enter a new era of intelligent and transformative paleontological research.