Exploring Collaborative GenAI Agents in Synchronous Group Settings: Eliciting Team Perceptions and Design Considerations for the Future of Work
Journal:
arXiv
Published Date:
Apr 21, 2025
Abstract
While generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is finding increased
adoption in workplaces, current tools are primarily designed for individual
use. Prior work established the potential for these tools to enhance personal
creativity and productivity towards shared goals; however, we don't know yet
how to best take into account the nuances of group work and team dynamics when
deploying GenAI in work settings. In this paper, we investigate the potential
of collaborative GenAI agents to augment teamwork in synchronous group settings
through an exploratory study that engaged 25 professionals across 6 teams in
speculative design workshops and individual follow-up interviews. Our workshops
included a mixed reality provotype to simulate embodied collaborative GenAI
agents capable of actively participating in group discussions. Our findings
suggest that, if designed well, collaborative GenAI agents offer valuable
opportunities to enhance team problem-solving by challenging groupthink,
bridging communication gaps, and reducing social friction. However, teams'
willingness to integrate GenAI agents depended on its perceived fit across a
number of individual, team, and organizational factors. We outline the key
design tensions around agent representation, social prominence, and engagement
and highlight the opportunities spatial and immersive technologies could offer
to modulate GenAI influence on team outcomes and strike a balance between
augmentation and agency.
