We develop a theoretical perspective on how and for whom large language model (LLM) assistance influences creativity in the workplace. We propose that LLM assistance increases employees’ creativity by providing cognitive job resources. Furthermore, we hypothesize that employees with high levels of metacognitive strategies—who actively monitor and regulate their thinking to achieve goals and solve problems—are more likely to leverage LLM assistance effectively to acquire cognitive job resources, thereby increasing creativity. Our hypotheses were supported by a field experiment, in which we randomly assigned employees in a technology consulting firm to either receive LLM assistance or not. The results are robust across both supervisor and external evaluator ratings of employee creativity. Our findings indicate that LLM assistance enhances employees’ creativity by providing cognitive job resources, especially for employees with high (vs. low) levels of metacognitive strategies. Overall, our field experiment offers novel insights into the mediating and moderating mechanisms linking LLM assistance and employee creativity in the workplace.

In November 2022, OpenAI launched ChatGPT, a large language model (LLM)-based generative artificial intelligence (AI) that marked a new era in AI technology. LLMs are considered general-purpose technologies akin to steam engines because of their potential to transform how work is done (Eloundou et al., 2023). Corporate investment in LLM tools is surging (Tiwari, 2024), with companies aiming to leverage them to boost employee creativity (Ivcevic & Grandinetti, 2024), defined as the generation of novel and useful ideas (Amabile, 1988). However, a large-scale, nationally representative survey conducted by Gallup found that only 26% of employees using LLM tools report improved creativity (Den Houter, 2024). This raises an important question: Do LLMs increase employee creativity in the workplace?

This question demands rigorous...