Abstract: [Purpose/Significance] ChatGPT is an application upgrade of AI generated content（AIGC）, which can act as a social actor to help users search for and generate their required information. This paper aims to summarize and prospect the features and theoretical framework of AI-enabled surrogate information searching. [Design/Methodology] Firstly, by combing the development process of surrogate information searching, this paper analyzes the connotation and characteristics of AI-enabled surrogate information searching. Then, based on the paradigm of sociotechnical system,we explore the theoretical framework of AI-enabled surrogate information searching. [Findings/Conclusion] It is found that the AI-enabled surrogate information searching is based on a ternary relationship group of "information demanders - AI algorithms - online information resources", which achieves the acquisition, integration, and presentation of informationthrough human-AI collaboration.This paper constructs a theoretical framework of AI-enabled surrogate information searching from four aspects: technology, information, users, and social culture. It also points out that the possible future research directions include trust and information credibility research, user adoption and user experience research, application research under the scenarios of information services and knowledge supply, and user algorithm literacy education research,etc. [Originality/Value] The research on AI-enabled surrogate information searching can help enrich the theory of user information behavior and information services in the era of digital intelligence and provide reference for future research and practice.

Key words: Surrogate information searching, ChatGPT, Artificial Intelligence Generated Content（AIGC）, Sociotechnical system, Affordance