New research finds that collaborating with generative AI does not boost creativity over time unless users move beyond treating the tool as a simple idea generator. The study, published in Information Systems Research and co-authored by Rice Business professor Jing Zhou, shows that while gen AI gives an early creative edge, those gains fade without a strategy the researchers call "idea co-development."
The researchers ran three mixed-methods studies. In the first, participants tackled creative solutions for societal and environmental issues over ten rounds. Some worked alone; others used a gen AI chatbot designed for human-like dialogue. Early on, the AI-assisted group scored significantly higher on novelty and usefulness. But by the seventh round, solo participants caught up. The AI group's scores stayed flat.
Most participants treated the AI as little more than an idea machine, proposing a concept and waiting for a response. "Because these tools are already so good at producing varied ideas quickly, the creativity bottleneck has moved from generating ideas to developing them - the slower work of questioning, refining and reshaping ideas after they arrive," Zhou said.
Why gen AI's creative advantage fades
Analyzing hundreds of user conversations, the researchers found that users were receptive to AI-generated ideas. The problem was how they used the tool. Instead of co-developing better ideas, people chased more of them. Without explicit training in co-development, users defaulted to transactional prompting - asking for more options rather than refining the ones they had.
That transactional back-and-forth did little to sustain joint creativity. The inherent strengths of gen AI contributed to this pattern: because it already delivers diverse ideas fast, users felt less compelled to push further. Over time, that habit made the creative advantage disappear.
The harder work of idea co-development
The study identified a different mode of collaboration - what they call idea co-development. In this approach, humans and AI actively exchange critical feedback, combine concepts, reframe problems, and refine a single idea into a viable solution. It's not about generating more options; it's about making the options better.
For example, a user might propose a concept, ask the AI to test its practicality, revise the idea based on that critique, impose constraints like budget or risk, and then work with the AI to shape it into a stronger solution. When users gradually increased their engagement in this co-development strategy, their joint creativity improved significantly. Yet without guidance, engagement in this strategy declined over time, and creativity plateaued.
Training users to partner with AI
In a final experiment, the team tested whether explicit instruction could reverse the decline. A treatment group learned idea co-development techniques - how to exchange feedback and refine ideas interactively. A control group received no such training. The results were clear: the trained group showed steady improvement in joint creativity across tasks, while the untrained group did not.
"Our research has major implications for companies eagerly integrating AI into their daily workflows," Zhou said. "To get the most out of these tools, organizations need to assess how their employees are actually using them."
Why this matters for creatives
For designers, writers, strategists, and other creative professionals, gen AI is not a replacement for the hard work of iteration. The study suggests that sustained creative output with AI requires shifting from idea generation to idea development. That means treating the AI as a collaborator that can challenge assumptions and help refine rough concepts into polished work.
Learning to do this takes practice. Resources such as AI for Creatives can help build the collaborative skills needed to sustain creative momentum. Rather than prompting for more, creatives should adopt a habit of asking the AI: "What's the weakest part of this idea?" or "How would this fail under budget constraints?" Then use that feedback to improve the concept - together.
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