AI and the future of collaborative work: Group ideation with an LLM in a virtual canvas

The introduction of generative AI into multi-user applications raises novel considerations for the future of collaborative work. How might collaborative work practices change? How might we incorporate generative AI into shared tools with users’ needs at the forefront? We examine these questions in the context of a remote team conducting ideation tasks – an example of collaborative work enabled by a shared digital workspace. We conducted a user study with 17 professionals experienced with virtual group ideation workshops. Our study examined their use of the Collaborative Canvas, a virtual canvas tool with integrated generative AI capabilities that we created as a probe. Participants saw value in using generative AI to assist with group facilitation and to augment perspectives and ideas. However, they worried about losing human perspectives and critical thinking, as well as reputational harms resulting from harmful AI outputs. Participants shared suggestions for appropriate ways to incorporate generative AI capabilities within multi-user applications and identified needs for transparency of content ownership, private digital spaces, and specialized AI capabilities. Based on participants’ insights, we share implications and opportunities for the incorporation of generative AI into collaborative work in ways that place user needs at the forefront.