BACKGROUND: Due to the recent revolution of artificial intelligence (AI), AI-enabled large language models (LLMs) have flourished and started to be applied in various sectors of science and medicine. Drug discovery and development are time-consuming, complex processes that require high investment. The conventional method of drug discovery is costly and has a high failure rate. AI-enabled LLMs are used in various steps of drug discovery to solve the challenges of time and cost. AIM OF REVIEW: The article aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of AI-enabled LLMs and their use in various steps of drug discovery to ease the challenges. KEY SCIENTIFIC CONCEPTS OF REVIEW: The review provides an overview of the LLM and their current state-of-the-art application in structure-based drug molecule design and de novo drug design. The different applications of AI-enabled LLMshave been illustrated, such as drug target identification, validation, interaction, and ADME/ADMET. Several domain-specific models of LLMs are developed in this direction and applied in drug discovery and development to speed up the process. We discussed all these domain-specific models of LLMs and their applications in this field. Finally, we illustrated the challenges and future perspectives on the applications of AI-enabled LLMs to drug discovery and development.